React to bill signings
Friday, Aug 4, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Sen. Morrison…
State Senator Julie Morrison passed a measure – which was signed by the governor Friday – to fill a significant gap in current Illinois law by giving victims of doxing a voice in deterring bad actors looking to take advantage of the evolving cyber landscape.
“As technology evolves, so must our laws,” said Morrison (D-Lake Forest). “The measure signed into law today is a positive step toward providing a necessary solution to the dangerous practice of doxing, both by helping victims and deterring future bad actors.”
To give victims of doxing the justice they deserve, Morrison passed House Bill 2954. The law allows people a civil private right of action against the individual who committed the offense. The victim will be able to recover damages and any other appropriate relief, including attorney’s fees.
Doxing is the act of sharing an individual’s personal information without that person’s consent and with the intent to cause harm to the individual whose personal information is shared.
“Today marks a critical step forward in the fight against online hate in Illinois. Doxing victims will now have a critical ability to hold their attackers accountable in the aftermath of unspeakable pain,” said David Goldenberg, ADL Midwest Regional Director. “Thank you to Representative Gong-Gershowitz and Senator Morrison for their tremendous leadership in pushing this bill through the legislature, to Governor Pritzker for swiftly signing the bill into law, and to our robust coalition of partners who activated at each stage of the process. ADL is committed to fighting hate on all fronts and the evolving online landscape is no exception.”
House Bill 2954 was signed by the governor Friday.
* Sen. Doris Turner…
To encourage community gardening, incentives will be provided for affordable housing projects that incorporate urban and suburban gardening under a new initiative sponsored by State Senator Doris Turner that was signed into law Friday.
“We’ve seen the positive outcomes that come from community gardens,” said Turner (D-Springfield). “There’s an economic benefit that provides residents with the needed tools that they may not get otherwise and engages the community by encouraging people to spend more time outside.”
The new law allows the Illinois Housing Development Authority to develop a program that provides incentives for affordable housing projects that incorporate urban and suburban gardening.
Turner’s law requires IHDA to consult with the University of Illinois on the program, work with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to facilitate the distribution of produce from the garden, and provide all necessary tools for the garden.
“Food deserts leave people with few options for nutritious meals,” Turner said. “This is a great opportunity to provide fruits and vegetables to the residents who can’t easily access a grocery store.”
House Bill 3892 takes effect immediately.
* Sen. Murphy…
The price of insulin will be capped at $35 for a 30-day supply thanks to State Senator Laura Murphy.
“When Fredrick Banting discovered insulin in 1923, he refused to put his name on the patent: he believed it was unethical for a doctor to profit from a discovery that would save lives,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “He and his co-inventors sold the insulin patent for $1: they wanted everyone who needed their medication to be able to afford it. We need to lead by the example of Mr. Banting’s selflessness, and honor the legacy of selflessness on the 100 year anniversary of its discovery.”
Under the law the price of a 30-day supply of insulin will be capped at $35 for all private individual and group insurance policies. In addition, an insulin discount program will be established by the Department of Central Management Services. The program will begin July 1, 2025.
More than 10% of the U.S. population has diabetes according to the Diabetes Research Institute. One in 12 Illinoisans have insulin-dependent diabetes, approximately 1.3 million people. According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the cost of insulin has risen 600% in the last 20 years. Americans pay 10 times than that of citizens of 32 other nations – $98.70 on average compared to $8.81.
“Medication like insulin must be affordable for every individual who needs it,” Murphy said. “I am proud that Illinois has taken this important step, which will ensure that no one will need to ration or put off purchasing insulin when they need it.”
House Bill 2189 was signed into law by the governor on Friday.
* NASW Illinois…
Governor J.B. Pritzker has taken a momentous step toward fostering equity and inclusivity in the field of social work by signing a groundbreaking bill (HB2365) that establishes an alternative to the ASWB exam for clinical licensure. This landmark legislation marks a significant milestone in the quest to create a more equitable path for aspiring social workers, ensuring that opportunities are accessible to a diverse pool of talent across Illinois.
HB2365 builds on the success of previous legislation that removed the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) exam for non-independent clinical licensure and created a first-in-the-nation alternative to for independent clinical social workers to complete the licensure process.
The bill’s chief senate sponsor and licensed school social worker, Senator Karina Villa, MSW, said: “With social worker shortages hitting across the US, it is important to consider what is in the best interest of the people who need these types of services the most. By supporting people who are dedicated to empowering individuals and families, we can improve the quality of life for thousands of Illinoisans.”
The ASWB exam has long been a standard requirement for individuals seeking to enter the social work profession. However, this assessment has, at times, posed a barrier for many aspiring social workers who possess exceptional skills and abilities but face disparities in standardized testing environments. This new law reflects the governor’s continued commitment to dismantling systemic barriers and opening doors to a more diverse and talented social work workforce.
The bill’s chief house sponsor, Representative Lindsey LaPointe, MSW, added: “For all of us working to increase access to mental health supports in Illinois and nationwide, it’s crystal clear that our shortage of clinicians is a central issue. Once law, HB2365 will rapidly increase the social work workforce by removing the barrier of the LCSW exam—an exam shown to be racially and age biased. I’m proud that Illinois is leading the way to broaden and build up the mental health workforce with the ultimate goal of access.”
The bill’s implementation will incorporate an apprentice approach to evaluating the competence and capabilities of aspiring social workers, offering them a fair and unbiased opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications and take into account a broader range of factors such as practical experience, interpersonal skills, and the ability to navigate real-life scenarios that social workers often encounter on the job.
Latesha Newson, MSW, LCSW, board president of the National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter (NASW-IL) stated: “NASW-IL couldn’t be prouder to have lent our support and resources to see this become a reality. This is a measure of justice; transformative justice for those who have been locked out of a profession that they are fully qualified and prepared to be in. As social workers, we are charged to remove barriers and challenge systems that perpetuate inequities to change, and we have done just that!”
As the new alternative assessment takes effect on January 1, 2024, it is anticipated that more social workers with disabilities, older social workers, and those from underrepresented backgrounds and marginalized communities will be empowered to pursue their passion for creating positive change and providing critical support to those in need. At a time when Illinois is facing a significant mental health workforce shortage, the state cannot afford to leave fully qualified professionals on the sidelines due to biased testing.
Cassandra Walker, LCSW, CCTP, an organizer for the #StopASWB coalition and owner of Intersections Center for Complex Healing, PLLC, reflected, “I hope that other professions and states follow our example and push this work further as it is clear that these kinds of tests are not making us safer, don’t measure what they claim, and generally weaken our ability to properly staff organizations in professions which already have massive shortages.”
Governor Pritzker’s decisive action in signing this bill underscores the importance of creating a diverse and equitable workforce in the field of social work and will serve as a nation-leading model for other states to follow.
* Sen. Peters…
Temporary workers will soon have increased safety, transparency and recourse thanks to a new law sponsored by State Senator Robert Peters.
“Temp workers’ contributions to our economy are often overlooked and taken for granted, even though they often deal with the most unsafe work conditions,” said Peters (D-Chicago). “This new law is long overdue. Temporary workers deserve to work in the same safe conditions as permanent workers.”
The Day and Temporary Labor Services Act requires staffing agencies to provide transportation and safety equipment to workers, provide an itemized list of wages due to workers and maintain records related to third party clients.
Peters’ law expands the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act to ensure safety and transparency for workers. Under the expansion, temporary laborers assigned to a third party client for more than 90 days will be paid no less than the rate of pay and equivalent benefits as the lowest paid hired employee of the client with the same level of seniority and performing the same or substantially similar work.
The measure also requires agencies to notify laborers that the assigned workplace is where a strike, lockout, or other labor trouble exists and that the laborers have a right to refuse the workplace assignment. Further, temporary and day labor service agencies must obtain information about a client company’s safety practices and provide training to workers on industry hazards they may encounter at the worksite.
“The expansion of the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act will bring an end to the hazardous workplace situations that many Black and Brown workers face,” Peters said. “A new normal is coming. I appreciate the work the Chicago Workers’ Collaborative, the Illinois AFL-CIO and State Representative Edgar Gonzalez have done to make this new normal a reality for a service sector that is often forgotten.”
House Bill 2862 was signed into law Friday and takes effect immediately.
* Sen. Murphy…
A new law will increase transparency between schools, students and parents regarding transfers to alternative schools thanks to support from State Senator Laura Murphy.
“Alternative schools are necessary for some students to thrive. These schools are designed to help educate those who need an extra push outside of traditional environments,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “However, students and their parents are often left in the dark when it comes to the nature of the programs, or even when they can return to regular school.”
Alternative schools are designed to educate students who have not been successful in regular schools, due to either behavioral or discipline issues. Both the sending school and the alternative school hold meetings regarding the student and establish an alternative education plan for them. Murphy’s measure will ensure that students and their parents or guardians are invited to participate in the meetings.
Before the effective date of the student’s transfer, the parents or guardians must be provided with the specific nature of the curriculum, number of students in the school, available services, disciplinary policies, typical daily schedule and extracurricular activities, under Murphy’s measure.
In addition, a meeting will need to be held with the student’s parent or guardian at least 30 days prior to the student’s planned return to regular schooling.
“We want all of our students to flourish,” Murphy said. “Establishing expectations and keeping open lines of communication will help ensure that students and their parents can make choices that are best for the student.”
Senate Bill 183 was signed into law on Friday.
…Adding… Last one I’m posting today…
Labor groups are celebrating the passage of the seminal Temp Worker Fairness and Safety Act (TWFSA), HB2862 into law upon the Governor’s signing of the bill earlier today. The bill had earlier passed the IL Senate by a bipartisan 49-3 vote and the IL House with a commanding majority of 72-36.
“It has long been the reality that the most vulnerable workers are also the least protected. The Temp Worker Fairness & Safety Act will change that by ensuring that temporary workers employed through staffing agencies receive the same rights and protections as any other worker,” said Jose Frausto, Executive Director of the Chicago Workers Collaborative. “This is a victory for all workers that was made possible by years of organizing by temp workers. We thank the Governor and the members of the General Assembly for standing with workers and showing, once again, that Illinois is a pro-worker, pro-labor state.”
“Latino and Black workers are the backbone of our economy, but they are also the most vulnerable when it comes to workplace abuse and exploitation. This bill was my number one priority because of the impact it would have on so many of my constituents,” said Representative Edgar Gonzalez, the bill’s lead House sponsor. “The Governor’s action today means an average of $4 more per hour for the thousands of temp workers in my district for work assignments that last more than 90 days. That’s as much as $8,000 a year more going into the pockets of working people, regardless of immigration status. District-wide, that will also mean millions more dollars going to support small businesses as the spending power of our community members increases.”
“Make no mistake, the Temp Worker Fairness and Safety Act is a historic bill that will set the bar for temp worker protections across the country. Over the past several decades, industry at large has shifted large parts of its workforce from well paying direct-hire, full-time roles, to part-time contract labor provided by third party staffing agencies. They’ve done this to depress wages and take shortcuts on worker safety by undercutting the power of workers to organize, to unionize, and to demand better. With this new law, we are sending a message that in Illinois, worker rights are not negotiable,” said Senator Robert Peters (IL-13), chief Senate sponsor for the bill.
“We are thrilled by the Governor’s decision to sign this important piece of legislation into law,” remarked Tim Drea, President of the IL AFL-CIO. “The Temp Worker Fairness and Safety Act builds on the success of the Workers Rights Amendment by restricting the practice of “permatemping” whereby workers are kept in “temporary” assignments for years, restricting their access to union jobs and creating a downward pressure on wages and working conditions for all workers. The IL AFL-CIO was proud to stand in solidarity with temp workers to advance this critical piece of worker legislation that will benefit all workers across Illinois and set an example for other states to follow.”
“Following wins in New Jersey and Illinois the goal of our movement is to undo the deregulation of the staffing agency industry that’s happened over the last several decades,” said Roberto Clack, Executive Director of Temp Worker Justice. “We are developing a road map to address pay inequities while strengthening workers ‘ ability to build power in the workplace.”
The TWFSA is a landmark law that updates the state’s Illinois Day and Temporary Services Act. Key provisions of the law include:
● Discouraging the practice of “permatemping” by guaranteeing equal pay for equal work for temps who are assigned to the same job for more than 90 calendar days
● Keeping workers safe by improving training and workplace safety standards for temps
● Ensuring that all temp workers have the right to refuse a strikebreaking assignment without being retaliated against
● Increasing funding for enforcement through increased fees and increased fines for violators of the act
● Expanding enforcement through an innovative enforcement mechanism that will allow for even enforcement of the law across the entire state of IL for the first time
The equal pay provision in the law follows the passage of a similar provision in New Jersey under the recently passed “Temp Worker Bill of Rights”. This is expected to have an immediate and significant material impact on temp workers who earn on average $4 less per hour than direct hire employees doing the same work.
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* Veto message…
August 4, 2023
To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois Senate,
103rd General Assembly:
Today, at the request of the sponsors and advocates, I will veto Senate Bill 1515 from the 103rd General Assembly. The bill is intended to increase protections for workers. However, due to irreconcilable drafting errors, the bill will have an adverse effect on the workers it seeks to protect.
My administration appreciates the hard work of the sponsors in the House and Senate and the workers’ rights advocates who worked to get this bill passed. I look forward to working together with sponsors and advocates to craft legislation to increase worker protections.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return Senate Bill 1515, entitled “AN ACT concerning employment,” with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
The bill is here. It places restrictions on the use of E-Verify and related applications. Not sure what happened, but I’ll let you know what I hear.
*** UPDATE *** From the sponsors…
State Senator Javier Cervantes and State Representative Eva-Dina Delgado announced that they would continue their work to protect marginalized employees following the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 1515 that Cervantes sponsored in the Senate and Delgado led through the House.
SB1515 is aimed at protecting our immigration community, yet it fell short from its intention. Instead of moving forward with legislation that may not make Illinois a national example in protecting our immigrant community, Senator Cervantes, Representative Delgado, the Governor and advocates unanimously decided the best approach is to introduce a new bill that will make us leaders in the nation.
“We brought this legislation forward to protect employees and ensure Illinois is following through to protect workers’ rights,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “Unfortunately, we were unable to achieve our goal with this legislation but the job does not stop there. I want to assure residents that I am committed to getting this measure right to protect our community.”
Delgado added, “Senator Cervantes and I are committed to continuing our work to protect all workers and determine a secure path for advancing workers’ rights in the workplace. No one should find themselves subject to, or in fear of name or social security number discrepancy notifications and we remain focused on working together with the Governor’s office, labor leaders and advocates to bring forth a permanent solution for consideration during session in the fall.”
Senate Bill 1515 was vetoed by the governor on Friday. Cervantes and Delgado pledge to continue conversations and work with the administration and advocates to bring forth a solution for potential review in the fall veto session.
Not exactly illuminating, but that’s all I have so far.
…Adding… I’m told the bill would’ve violated federal rules and actually made it harder on employees. Oops.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* Press release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker took the following bill action:
Bill Number: SB1515
Description: Amends the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Places restrictions on the use of Employment Eligibility Verification Systems.
Action: Veto
Bill Number: HB1076
Description: Amends the Counties Code to permit county boards to lease farmland, acquired or held by the county, for any term not exceeding 5 years.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB1120
Description: Requires all charter schools in Illinois to include a union neutrality clause in the requirements for their formation.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB1122
Description: Creates the Freelance Worker Protection Act. Protects freelance workers from intimidation, harassment, and discrimination from hiring parties, requires timely compensation and requires employers to provide freelance workers with written contracts.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB1187
Description: Makes changes to the nonprofit security grant program requirements, administered by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB1367
Description: Exempts licensed funeral directors and embalmers from continuing education requirements if they have been practicing for at least 40 years.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB1565
Description: Requires insurance coverage of vaginal estrogen products without cost-sharing.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2025
Bill Number: HB1571
Description: Creates the Michael Bauer Memorial Act. Adds disinterment into current statute surrounding the treatment of dead bodies.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2039
Description: Creates the Access to Public Health Data Act.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2057
Description: Amends the Chicago Laborers and Chicago Park Employees’ Articles of the Illinois Pension Code.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2077
Description: Provides clarification to items within the Dental Practice Act and E-Prescription requirements.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2089
Description: Allows a person convicted of a felony to serve as an executor if certain criteria are met.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2023
Bill Number: HB2098
Description: Exempts beneficiaries from the definition of a seller who has both never occupied the residential real property and never had management responsibility for the residential real property.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2102
Description: Allows a health care employer to hire any individual for a position involving direct care for patients and clients who has been convicted of committing certain offenses under law if a waiver is applied for.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2189
Description: Expands access to those who are in urgent need of affordable insulin.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2025
Bill Number: HB2235
Description: Allows school boards to determine the appropriate length of a transportation contract for students to and from school.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2267
Description: Changes the definition of “public health supervision” by changing the federal poverty level from 200% to 300%.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2338
Description: Requires manufactured homes to be removed only by an Illinois licensed manufactured home installer.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2365
Description: Allows for social workers who have taken but unsuccessfully completed traditional examination to use an alternative to licensure for their license to engage in the independent practice of clinical social work (LCSW).
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2500
Description: Requires animal control facilities to waive adoption fees for dogs and cats for veterans, and allows facilities to limit the fee waivers to one dog or cat each in a two-year period.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2528
Description: Creates the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program and the Hunger-Free Campus Designation for institutions of higher education to help combat food insecurity and provide better access to SNAP enrollment and utilization for students on their individual campuses.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2827
Description: Allows the Health Care Professional Credentials Data Collection Act to allow the form to be collected in an electronic format.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB2862
Description: Expands the scope of protections and rights afforded to both day and temporary labor workers.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2023
Bill Number: HB2949
Description: Allows staff and children participating in after-school care programs to use epi-pens and inhalers if an emergency arises.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB2954
Description: Provides a private right of action for individuals who have been doxed.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3030
Description: In the event that a medical bill is not resolved within 30 days, permits the health insurance issuer, nonparticipating provider, or the facility to initiate binding arbitration for a single bill or group of bills.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3086
Description: Increases certain fees to offset the cost of pesticide misuse investigations by the Department of Agriculture.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3109
Description: Requires the State Medical board when determining mental capacities of applicants for a medical license shall consider the latest recommendations of the Federation of State Medical Boards.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3161
Description: Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Restores the Chicago Municipal Article to the form in which it appeared before amendment by Public Act 98-641, which has been held unconstitutional.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3172
Description: Allows individuals to be admitted to an assisted living facility if they require sliding scale insulin administration.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3456
Description: Authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to enter a public-private partnership to develop, finance, lease, manage, and operate the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, Illinois.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3498
Description: Provides debt relief to teachers who missed their original window to avoid repayment of an Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) teacher grant, but later fulfilled their obligations by working with Illinois students.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3500
Description: Allows, by passage of a proper referendum, the Joliet Public SD 86 to issue bonds with aggregate principal amount not to exceed $99.5 million.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3516
Description: Allows employees of businesses with 51 or more employees to use up to a maximum of 10 days of leave in any 12-month period for the purpose of organ donation.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3563
Description: Creates the Generative AI and Natural Language Taskforce under the Department of Innovation and Technology.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: HB3570
Description: Requires the Illinois State Board of Education to report (instead of analyze and assess) teacher evaluation data from each school in the State. Makes changes to what data are included in the report.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3631
Description: Prohibits pharmacy benefit managers from retaliating against pharmacists for disclosing information in government proceedings if they have reasonable cause to believe that the disclosed information is evidence of a violation of a state or federal law, rule, or regulation.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2023
Bill Number: HB3639
Description: Caps the cost of a twin-pack of medically necessary insulin at $60 for state regulated insurance plans.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2025
Bill Number: HB3646
Description: Amends the Chicago Municipal Article of the Illinois Pension Code. When purchasing service credits from the CTA or its predecessor, clarifies the employees’ salary is at which the credits are purchased is that later of the date of his or her entrance or reentrance into service.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3677
Description: Creates new 3-year licenses for fishing, hunting, sportsmen’s combination (both hunting and fishing), and trapping.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3744
Description: Requires CMS to annually report on workforce demographics.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3809
Description: Expands insurance coverage to include therapy, diagnostic testing, and equipment for children who have been clinically or genetically diagnosed with any disease, syndrome, or disorder including low tone neuromuscular impairment.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: HB3892
Description: Authorizes Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) to develop a program incentivizing affordable housing that incorporates urban and suburban gardening programs.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0058
Description: Requires State entities to track single-use plastic purchasing beginning in July of 2024 and establish goals to reduce single-use plastic.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0063
Description: Changes the permitting process for billboards regulated by Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0090
Description: Amends the Human Rights Act and the School Code to include legal remedies for racial harassment in school.
Action: Signed
Effective: August 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0183
Description: Ensures that before a student is transferred to an alternative school program, they and their parents must be given information about the alternative school program.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0188
Description: Allows a parent who consented to a health care service to be performed on their child to be entitled to inspect and receive a copy of that part of the child’s medical record.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0195
Description: Stipulates that no petition for guardianship shall be filed for the sole purpose of a student qualifying for additional educational financial aid while their parents continue to support them.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0273
Description: Permits mobile safety inspections for all trucks, truck-tractors, trailers, semi-trailers, buses engaged in interstate commerce, and first division fees and adjusts fees for permits.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0285
Description: Removes requirement that the date a controlled substance is dispensed must be part of the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). Requires a dispenser to electronically transmit required information under the Section.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0375
Description: Authorizes the Department of Children and Family Services to develop and implement a safety-based child welfare intervention system centered on child safety.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0380
Description: Allows certain individuals to bring action against a healthcare provider who knowingly used the person’s reproductive material without their consent.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0505
Description: Expands the Home Services Program allowing additional family to serve as program recipient’s provider of care.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0684
Description: Creates the Central Illinois Regional Airport Authority.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0734
Description: Requires school districts that provide 457 plans to make available more than one financial institution or investment provider to provide services.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB0764
Description: Creates the Vision Care Plan Regulation Act.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB849
Description: Reenacts the Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Infrastructure Funding and Policy Act and requires the commission to produce a final reports of its finding by January 1, 2024.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB0851
Description: Evaluate the expansion of Illinois Century Network (ICN) to public schools, libraries, and state-owned correctional facilities.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1251
Description: Ensures that operators of ambulances and rescue vehicles have training on and make proper use of warning signals.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1291
Description: Requires the Department of Human Services to notify recipients of overpayments of benefits and provides that actions for the recovery of overpayments must commence within 10 years after the first notice is sent.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1344
Description: Exempts reports from the Abortion Care Clinical Training Act from FOIA. Clarifies that the no-cost coverage mandate for abortifacients, hormone therapy, and PrEP/PEP applies to all health insurance plans amended, issued, or renewed in Illinois on or after January 1st, 2024. Allows the Department of Public Health to issue a statewide standing order for HIV prophylaxis to be issued by a pharmacist.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1460
Description: Adds requirements for contracting between municipal governments for road maintenance and repair.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1476
Description: Makes changes to affordably housing plan definitions, plan requirements, and Appeals Board membership.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1488
Description: Puts a 2-year hold on new teachers taking a teacher performance assessment and convenes a working group to evaluate potential teacher performance assessments to replace the current system.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1497
Description: Makes changes to the Nursing Home Care Act as it relates to restraints, drug treatment, and the definition of “emergency.”
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1499
Description: Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act to specify offenses for which law enforcement making an arrest may take possession of a companion animal and adds offenses for which a court may order the forfeiture of an animal.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1570
Description: Allows municipalities and school districts to use design-build processes on public projects.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1665
Description: Prohibits hospitals from using guaranteed income program participation as household income for those who apply for financial assistance.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1674
Description: In Long-Term Stabilization Support Program and the Short-Term Stabilization Support Program settings, provides that an individual receiving program services may request alternate placement when the wants or needs of the individual, as reflected in the individual’s personal plan, would be better served in another setting along the full spectrum of care and requires the Department of Human Services to report, beginning March 31, 2025, on the number of individuals participating in the programs and other data.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1701
Description: Creates the Illinois Healthy Soils Initiative focusing on the enhancement of soil health and to improving water quality and agricultural production.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1721
Description: Makes several changes to the Hearing Instrument Consumer Protection Act.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1772
Description: Creates the Pesticide Application at Schools Act. Prohibits the application of pesticides on K-8 school grounds during the school day when students are in attendance for instructional purposes.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1787
Description: Creates the Rural Education Advisory Council to develop policy recommendations on the needs, challenges, and opportunities of rural school districts in the State.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1794
Description: Requires the Department of Human Services to establish a home visiting program to support communities in providing intensive home visiting programs to pregnant persons and families with children aged birth through elementary school enrollment.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1824
Description: Amends the General Provisions and Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Articles of the Illinois Pension Code. Exempts wage increases above 6 percent or 1.5 times CPI when calculating final average earnings if required by State or Federal law.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB1861
Description: Authorizes Joliet Park District to sell Splash Station if approved by board of commissioners.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1872
Description: Removes the fourth year of a teacher’s probationary period to make it quicker for teacher to reach tenure status.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1, 2023
Bill Number: SB1907
Description: Requires each public university and community college in Illinois to make available emergency contraception through at least one on campus wellness kiosk.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB1999
Description: Increases the time from 72 hours to 30 days that a parent who relinquishes their child under the Abandoned Newborn Protection Act may request information about their child.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2031
Description: Creates the Expanded HS Snapshot Report to better inform the public about what courses are available and the expertise of the teachers who teacher these courses.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2039
Description: Requires Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Department of Human Services (DHS) to keep parents of and students with intellectual and developmental disabilities well informed about the PUNS database, and they shall have registration be considered during their annual IEP meeting.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2059
Description: Extends the sunset of the Veterinary Medicine and Surgery Practice Act to January 1st, 2029.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB2100
Description: Amends the Police Officers’ Pension Investment Fund Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Updates provisions for the Board of Trustees of the Fund.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB2123
Description: 2023 Elections Omnibus package. Makes changes to the Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act, the Election Code, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority Act, the Park District Code, and the School Code.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately, except changes to Section 3-6 of the Election Code are effective January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2130
Description: Adds anesthesiologists to the definition of eligible health care provider to include them in the grant, scholarship, and loan repayment program for those individuals working in underserved areas.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2152
Description: Provides that the State Treasurer may manage, upon the affirmative vote of three-fifths of each Board, the State Universities, Downstate Teachers’ and the Board of Investment’s domestic and international proxy voting activity and execute required ballots on behalf of the System or Investment Board.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB2288
Description: Requires all Illinois public colleges and universities to accept all major course credits approved for transfer from Illinois community colleges.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2294
Description: Repeals the Illinois Health Information Exchange Act.
Action: Signed
Effective: July 1st, 2023
Bill Number: SB2323
Description: Allows Bloomington Public SD 87 to, without referendum, expend existing fund balances to purchase a building site for the construction of a new school building.
Action: Signed
Effective: Immediately
Bill Number: SB2368
Description: Creates a framework for statewide adoption of recent building code updates.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2424
Description: Amends the definition of “project” to include land acquisitions by the Department of Transportation or Illinois Toll Highway Authority.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
Bill Number: SB2034
Description: Creates the Child Extended Bereavement Leave Act. Provides that an employee of a large employer that employs 250 or more full-time employees is entitled to use a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave if the employee experiences the loss of a child by suicide or homicide. Provides that an employee of a company that employs between 50 and 250 full-time employees is entitled to 6 weeks of unpaid leave.
Action: Signed
Effective: January 1, 2024
…Adding… New appointments…
Illinois Department of Human Services
Charles Wright will begin serving as the IDHS Inspector General. Wright currently serves as Deputy Inspector General for the Illinois Department of Services (IDHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) where he oversees investigations into abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of persons with disabilities at facilities and agencies throughout Illinois. He previously worked as an Assistant Inspector General for the City of Chicago and as a Deputy Attorney General with the State of New Jersey Office of Attorney General. Wright holds a Juris Doctorate from Boston College Law School, as well as a bachelor’s degree in politics and a certificate in African American Studies from Princeton University.
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Board
Ahmadou Dramé will serve as a Member of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority Board.* Dramé was promoted to Director of the Illinois Justice Project (ILJP) in June 2023 after serving as Program Director for two years. Throughout his career, he has used his advocacy skills to empower communities impacted by mass incarceration, to call attention to the injustices of the criminal legal system, and to advance initiatives that eliminate permanent punishments and reduce society’s reliance on the criminal legal system as a response to socioeconomic and racial disparities. Dramé was an instrumental member of the award-winning Just Housing Coalition, which eliminates barriers to housing for returning residents in Cook County by securing the passage of the Just Housing Ordinance. He directed a program that provided “Know Your Rights” trainings to incarcerated people inside state prisons. He was Co-Chair of the Chicago Mayor’s Reentry Working Group, which created the city’s first Director of Reentry position and more than $50 million for housing and services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he directed a reentry housing pilot program that served 120 households. He is a 2023 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. Dramé earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Master of Public Administration from DePaul University.
Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board
Louise Medina will serve as a Member of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board.* Medina was appointed to the position of Director of Special Projects in May of 2022 at the Sheet Metal Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) Workers International Association and she has been a member since 2000. Some of her current projects include DEI initiatives, strategic planning, disaster relief fund grants, and webinar planning. Medina was also the first elected female Business Representative for SMART Local 265, and she served in various roles and elected positions within the union including as an apprentice, journeyperson, foreperson, organizer, and elected positions including conductor, trustee, executive board member, and recording secretary. She also served on the SMART International Women’s Committee and as the President of the newly formed SMART International Recruitment and Retention Council. During her term as Business Representative, she was also Vice President of the Kankakee Federation of Labor (KFL-CIO), recording secretary of the Kankakee/Iroquois County Building Trades, and delegate of the Will/Grundy County Building Trades.
Illinois Workforce Innovation Board
Lisa Wojick Burns will serve as a Member of the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board.* Wojick Burns has a spent the past decade working to support her neighbors with disabilities in areas including skills training and job development. She also works as the Placement Manager with Challenge Unlimited. In this role, Wojick Burns provides ongoing support for clients seeking community employment and provides feedback to support them. Wojick Burns received a Bachelor of Business Administration from American Intercontinental University.
Marlon McClinton will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board.* McClinton serves as the President and CEO of Utilivate Technologies providing energy management, evaluation, measurement, and verification services to utilities, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and government agencies across the country. McClinton has been recognized for his skilled leadership, inviting engagement and participation from under-served and under-represented communities in utility energy efficiency programs. He serves on the Illinois Community College Board and Chairs the Continuous Improvement Committee. McClinton earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois and his Master of Science and Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University.
* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
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* I’ve added links to the bills…
Governor JB Pritzker signed three bills today offering increased protections for Native and Indigenous Illinoisans. HB3413, the Human Remains Protection Act, establishes procedures for encountering human remains or gravesites and returning remains to Native American Nations. SB1446 prohibits schools from banning students from wearing cultural regalia as graduation attire. HB1633 mandates instruction on Native American history in Illinois public schools.
“Today, we take another step forward in repairing generations of harm and building a brighter future for our state’s Native American and Indigenous Peoples,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “At its core, this legislation is about respect. Respect for those who came before us and those who will come after—and that is why we want to teach our children this history, to avoid the mistakes of the past and to instill that respect from an early age.”
“As we are seeking new ways to continue to make Illinois inclusive and welcoming to all, our administration is committed to expanding protections for our Native and Indigenous Illinoisans - past, present, and future. Today’s bill signing is a measure to address the generational injustice, while we extend our hand in support for our Native and Indigenous communities,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. “Thanks to the compassionate leadership of Governor Pritzker and members of the General Assembly, and the voices of residents in Illinois, together we honor the history, contributions, and experiences of Indigenous people with honesty and dignity at the forefront.”
HB3413 seeks to streamline and concentrate efforts to return known or newly discovered Native American remains and cultural artifacts to their nation of origin. Many Native remains and artifacts remain in museums across the country. This act, which amends the existing Human Remains Protection Act will coordinate with the Illinois State Museum and federally recognized tribes with ties to Illinois to determine tribal identity of the remains and be returned for appropriate burial. The bill also allows for creation of a cemetery for remains unable to be identified.
Illinois currently has the second largest collection of unrepatriated remains in the United States. The Illinois State Museum has committed to the largest repatriation effort in the state’s history. Violators of this bill will be subject to pay restitution, which will be held in a fund to aid in reinternment or restoration. The law is effective immediately.
SB1446 protects the rights of Illinois students to wear accessories that reflect cultural, religious, or ethnic heritage at graduation ceremonies. The bill was proposed following an incident where Nimkii Curley, an Illinois high school senior, was forced to sit out his graduation ceremony after refusing to remove traditional Native regalia. The act protects not only Native American and Indigenous cultural attire, but anything worn that is associated with a student’s protected characteristic as laid out under the Illinois Human Rights Act. The law is effective immediately.
HB1633 adds Native American history to the list of required curricula for public schools in Illinois. The law specifies that this includes teaching about the genocide and forced resettlement of Native Americans by settlers, alongside the history of tribes in the Midwest and nationwide. Governor Pritzker has previously signed laws mandating instruction on Asian American and LGBTQ+ history in Illinois schools.
“It is important that our children’s learning experiences are formulated in an atmosphere that is both inclusive and equitable,” said State Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs). “These new laws will empower students to express their cultural identity and provide them with a full picture of how our nation was founded. We need to invigorate our classrooms and present different perspectives to give our children learning opportunities they haven’t had before.”
“Native American history is Illinois’ history, from the awe-inspiring Cahokia mounds to the Illiniwek tribes encountered by French colonists to the tens of thousands of people of Native American ancestry who live in Illinois today,” said State Rep Maurice West (D-Rockford). “We must understand the history and experience of Native Americans if we want to truly understand our home state, but too many students miss out on this important aspect of our nation’s past and present. These laws will help preserve and promote the rich history of Native Americans in Illinois while ensuring students can freely honor their cultural, ethnic, or religious identity through their attire during their graduation ceremonies.”
“I can’t imagine how horrible I would feel if someone dug up the grave of my grandmother, stole a necklace she was buried with to be sold as a curiosity, and put her bones on display, but that’s what we’re talking about here,” said State Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights). “Illinois’ past and present are better because of the history and impacts of Native Americans. Reconciling the sins of our past means ensuring these remains are reburied with the honor and respect they deserve.”
“We’ve longed for the day we can bring respect to our history and our ancestors the way they should’ve been respected centuries ago. Today means that can finally happen,” said Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick. “This new law puts Illinois on a path to free the remains of our ancestors so they can be buried with the dignity they always deserved.”
“The new Human Remains Protection Act is just one step in our commitment to continue to elevate Indigenous voices at the Illinois State Museum,” said Jenn Edginton, interim director of the Illinois State Museum. “Native people have always been on the land on which we stand. Their stories are the stories of Illinois. The Illinois State Museum and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources are committed to continuing to ensure Native stories are heard and that we continue to collaborate with them.”
* More from Sen. Glowiak Hilton…
“Native American history is American history. It’s time we introduce it in our classrooms,” said Glowiak Hilton (D – Western Springs). “It is important that our children’s learning experiences are formulated in an atmosphere that is both inclusive and equitable.”
House Bill 1633 requires public schools to make Native American history part of curriculum. Teachings will include the study of the genocide of and discrimination against Native Americans, as well as tribal sovereignty, treaties made between tribal nations and the United States, and the circumstances around forced Native American relocation.
Social studies courses pertaining to American history or government are required to include a unit of instruction studying the events of the Native American experience and Native American history within the Midwest and Illinois.
“By providing our students a better understanding of our history, we are presenting a brighter future ahead,” said Glowiak Hilton. “We need to invigorate our classrooms and present new perspectives to give our children learning opportunities they haven’t had before.”
House Bill 1633 was signed into law Friday. Native American history will begin being taught during the 2024-2025 school year.
…Adding… Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation…
llinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law today three bills that overwhelmingly passed the state legislature with bipartisan support, bringing long overdue honor to past, present and future Native communities in Illinois.
The three newly signed laws will:
• Allow the state of Illinois to create cemeteries protected from public use on state lands for the reburial of repatriated Native American remains and materials
• Allow for the expansion of Illinois public school curriculum to include Native history
• Require schools to permit students to celebrate their cultural or religious identity during graduation ceremonies, including wearing traditional Native regalia
“Illinois has made tremendous strides this year in its work to repair the centuries-long injustices that started with colonizers doing everything they could to extinguish our people and the origins of this land on which the United States of America was constructed,” said Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick. “Illinois today proved that a government is capable of reflecting on its past injustices and planning for a future that respects and celebrates our interconnectedness.”
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation was integral in the advocacy efforts for all of the new laws signed today, particularly HB 3413 which allows for the burial of Native remains on state lands. Illinois possesses the remains of thousands of Native people – some dug up by the Department of Transportation during highway construction and unceremoniously housed in desk drawers – but that’s set to change as the state is on track to return 1,100 of the 7,000 Native American remains the state currently holds.
“Native tribes have existed since before colonization, and our land and culture are the foundation of our society. Yet the remains of thousands of our ancestors have been in the hands of governments and institutions, just as our Native lands have been for centuries,” Chairman Rupnick said. “By signing this bill today Governor Pritzker is undoing a modern-day extension of colonization. This new law will bring respect to our ancestors the way they should’ve been respected centuries ago.”
Despite the progress in Illinois this year as it relates to the state’s Native origins, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation still faces the reality that its identity in Illinois remains diminished due to an overreach by the United States government.
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has roots in Illinois with DeKalb County being home to a Reservation that belongs to Chairman Rupnick’s great grandfather four generations removed.
However, the U.S. Government in 1849 illegally auctioned off more than 1,280 acres of Chief Shab-eh-nay’s home Reservation near the village of Shabbona in southern DeKalb County when he traveled from his family in Kansas. Illinois is the only state in the Midwest – one of just 15 states nationwide – without a federally recognized Tribe.
Legislation recently filed in the House by state Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights) would return state-owned lands comprising the Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.
Although the U.S. Congress is the only governing body that has the authority to designate land titles for Native nations, the state of Illinois owns and operates a state park on a portion of Prairie Band’s 1,280 acres, they have the agency to return that to Prairie Band with legislation or through executive action.
“Although our land was illegally taken from us, we’re still here, living and contributing to life in Illinois, all while practicing our traditions and serving our country,” said Chairman Rupnick, a U.S. Army Veteran who served for 13 years. “We may not yet have our Reservation land back in the hands of our Tribe, but we have the truth and increasing acknowledgement that our cause is just.
“Thanks to Governor Pritzker, state Representatives Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights), and Maurice West (D-Rockford), state Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton (D-Western Springs), former state Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas, and Republicans and Democrats in the Illinois legislature, today is an important day for policy changes that put Illinois on a path to break down oppressive structures and the lingering effects of colonization that upended our Native communities.”
…Adding… Rep.West…
Today, Gov. JB Pritzker signed HB1633 and SB1446, both sponsored by State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford). HB1633 will require the experience and history of Native Americans to be taught to all Illinois elementary and high school students. SB 1466 prohibits K-12 schools from restricting students from wearing or accessorizing graduation attire that reflects their cultural, ethnic, or religious identity.
“Native American history is Illinois’ history, from the awe-inspiring Cahokia mounds to the Illiniwek tribes encountered by French colonists to the tens of thousands of people of Native American ancestry who live in Illinois today,” said Chief House Sponsor State Rep. Maurice West. “We must understand the history and experience of Native Americans if we want to truly understand our home state, but too many students miss out on this important aspect of our nation’s past and present. This law will help preserve and promote the rich history of Native Americans in Illinois while helping our young people understand the important contributions Native Americans make to Illinois in the present day.”
“Furthermore, graduation ceremonies should be a time for students and their families to celebrate their educational journey and their personal identity,” said West. “Now, students can freely honor and recognize their cultural, ethnic, or religious identity through their attire during their graduation ceremonies. I am deeply grateful to the amazing advocates from Illinois’ Native American community as well as the Illinois State Board of Education for their multi-year collaborative effort to make these pieces of legislation a reality, and I thank Gov. Pritzker for signing these bills into law.”
HB1633 requires certain history courses to include teaching about Native American nations’ sovereignty and self-determination with a focus on urban Native Americans, as well as information about the Native American genocide in North America. The legislation also includes requirements for the State Board of Education to provide curriculum materials developed in consultation with the Native American community that school districts can choose to use regarding Native American history. Instruction will be required as of the 2024-2025 school year.
The bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives by a vote of 81 in favor to 31 opposed and the Illinois Senate by a vote of 44 to 8. More information can be found HERE.
SB1446 arose from an incident when a student was prohibited from wearing graduation clothing that reflected their Native American heritage during a graduation ceremony at an Evanston, Ill. high school. The bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives by a vote of 104 to 7 and the Illinois Senate by a vote of 49 to 4. More information can be found HERE.
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Afternoon roundup
Friday, Aug 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* So, wait, you mean there won’t be massive prisoner releases and carnage in the streets? What happened to The Purge we were promised? I mean, didn’t this very same state’s attorney warn that the SAFE-T Act would “lead to the ‘greatest jailbreak’ in Madison County history”? Huh. Interesting…
Madison County officials say they have been preparing for the implementation of the SAFE-T Act and are ready when cash bail ends in Illinois on Sept. 18.
Representatives of the courts, the sheriff’s department and the public defender’s, state’s attorney’s and court clerk’s offices gave reports about those preparations to the county board’s judiciary committee on Thursday.
It was noted several times that most of the prisoners currently in custody at the Madison County Jail are there for what would qualify as “detainable” offenses under the SAFE-T Act, and that Madison County generally does not hold people for misdemeanors or minor felonies.
* Rep. West…
Today, Gov. JB Pritzker signed Zachary’s Parent Protection Act (SB2034), legislation that will require employers to provide additional unpaid leave for parents who experience the sudden loss of a child by suicide or homicide.
Under the legislation, employees of large employers are entitled to use a maximum of 12 weeks of unpaid leave and employees of small employers are entitled to use a maximum of 6 weeks of unpaid leave. Currently, parents are only entitled to use a maximum of 2 weeks (10 work days) of unpaid bereavement leave after the loss of a child.
“The loss of a child is an unimaginable tragedy. Amid the pain and suffering that follows, no parent should be forced to choose between their grief and their employment,” said State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford), chief sponsor of Zachary’s Parent Protection Act. “Parents who lose a child to suicide or homicide deserve a respect and patience from their employers as they cope with their trauma and grief. Zachary’s Parent Protection Act will extend the amount of leave parents can use in these situations, which will hopefully provide some small measure of relief in the immediate aftermath of such a tragic event. I extend my sincerest gratitude to Laura Kane, Zachary’s mother, for her tireless efforts to pass this critical legislation, and I thank Gov. Pritzker for signing this bill.”
The bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives by a vote of 81 to 24 and the Illinois Senate by a vote of 42 to 10. More information can be found here.
* Treasurer Frerichs…
The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office returned more than $11.5 million in unclaimed property during July, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced today.
The total includes nearly $11.5 million in cash and interest and almost $45,000 in stock value. All told, 12,554 claims were paid.
“My office helps the Illinois economy by putting money back in people’s pockets,” Frerichs said. “I have taken numerous steps to make the system of reuniting people with their unclaimed property more efficient.”
Illinois’ unclaimed property program — also known as I-CASH — is one of the state’s oldest consumer protection initiatives. The State Treasurer is tasked with safeguarding unclaimed property, such as the contents of overlooked safe deposit boxes, unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards. Illinois holds more than $5 billion in unclaimed property.
The Treasurer’s Office has returned more than $1.8 billion since Frerichs took office in January 2015. When Frerichs first became treasurer, there were 60,000 claims paid in a year. Today, more than 200,000 claims are paid each year.
So far this year, the Treasurer’s Office has returned nearly $120 million through more than 103,400 claims.
The record-setting performance is the result of a complete restructuring of the unclaimed property process under Frerichs. The state treasurer’s office has added electronic claims, eliminated red-tape that slowed small-money claims, and leveraged technology to allow payments to be made without a claim even needing to be filed.
* SoS Giannoulias…
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is encouraging vehicle enthusiasts to mark their calendars for the 73rd Secretary of State Vehicle Show, which will be held Saturday, September 9, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in downtown Springfield at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Second Street. The show is celebrating the 1966 Pontiac GTO.
First organized in 1949 as an Antique Auto Meet, the Secretary of State Vehicle Show features some of Illinois’ finest antique and classic vehicles, sports cars, motorcycles, trucks and tractors. The show will be held rain or shine.
* The HDems are starting to catch up with last Friday. Rep. Norma Hernandez…
Cook County’s water management agency will be able to more quickly and efficiently hold accountable those who violate the law by improperly discharging waste into the sewage system—under a new law introduced by state Rep. Norma Hernandez, D-Melrose Park.
“When hazardous waste is being introduced into our sewer system by unscrupulous businesses or other entities, we can’t afford to let that go on any longer than it has to,” Hernandez said. “Having to wait for a letter to arrive in the mail and for the offender to read it takes too long and results in additional contamination and longer and more expensive cleanup.”
Under existing law, when a person or entity was found to be unlawfully discharging waste into the sewer system, notices and orders—including cease-and-desist orders—had to be sent either by certified mail or by official courier.
Hernandez’s House Bill 3133 permits Cook County’s Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) to implement an electronic reporting system that, once operational, can be used to serve notices and orders to violators via email. It also stipulates that such electronic notices have the same validity and effect as those delivered by mail or by hand.
The bill was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on July 28 and took effect immediately.
* A report from the Redneck Fishing Tournament in Bath, Illinois…
In case you missed it, “Copi” is the new term for what used to be called Asian Carp.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Capitol News Illinois | Federal judge temporarily blocks Illinois law subjecting ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ to civil liability: The judge is also presiding over a long-awaited bench trial in a related case next month over a 2016 law aimed at health care providers – including individual practitioners and faith-based hospitals – who have moral objections to abortion. The law, if allowed to take effect, would require providers with such objections to give patients information about where to get an abortion, and a referral if requested. Johnston’s colleague blocked the law in 2017 on First Amendment grounds, but litigation has been ongoing since. Since the law was first challenged in court, the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 struck down a California law aimed at forcing crisis pregnancy centers to advise women about where to get an abortion.
* ABC Chicago | Federal judge halts law targeting crisis pregnancy centers; Pritzker responds: Pritzker signed that law last week, and insists it is constitutional. “Remember what they’re doing? They’re putting their crisis pregnancy centers next-door to abortion rights centers, and they’re directing people to go in their front door, or telling them things that aren’t true often, and when that’s the case, they ought to be held liable,” Pritzker said on CNN.
* Crain’s | Judge freezes Illinois law targeting anti-abortion pregnancy centers: “Free speech won today in the Land of Lincoln — pro-life advocates across Illinois can breathe a sigh of relief they won’t be pursued for ‘misinformation’ by Attorney General Kwame Raoul,” Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation for the Thomas More Society, said in the statement.
* KHQA | Federal judge halts Illinois law targeting ‘deceptive practices’ at pro-life pregnancy centers: The lawsuit, National Institute of Family Life Advocates et al. v. Raoul, asserts that this law—enacted on July 27, 2023, and amending the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act—was designed to target pregnancy help ministries solely because of their pro-life message.
* State Week | Former top Madigan aide heads to trial: Prosecutors say Tim Mapes failed to tell the truth to a federal grand jury about his former boss, Michael Madigan, who has been indicted for racketeering. Mapes, who worked as Madigan’s Chief of Staff, faces charges of perjury when his trial begins Monday. His trial is estimated to last about three weeks.
* Capitol News Illinois | Residents, activists ask state regulators to reject utilities’ rate increases: Activists and residents in the utilities’ service territories, however, accused the companies of corporate greed and of disregarding the needs of the poor. Environmental advocates also shared concerns about the effects of natural gas on public health and the climate.
* CBS Chicago | Bill making Illinois first state to count Arab Americans in public data signed into law: The amendment will require agencies to include the MENA category in addition to white, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander when reporting statistical data on ethnic or racial categories.
* WREX | Pritzker signs bill creating statewide Farm to Foodbank Program: “Illinois farmers are producing some of the finest food in the country, and now that produce, dairy, and meat can go directly to Illinoisans struggling with food insecurity,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “It’s good for our farmers’ bottom line, it’s good for those in need, and it’s good for our state—a win for everyone in Illinois.”
* Center Square | New Illinois law allows some felons to serve as executors: As signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, House Bill 1268 amends the Probate Act of 1975, which prohibited a convicted felon from serving as an executor, and will require the person who is the owner of the estate to acknowledge that they are aware that the person named executor is a convicted felon.
* Daily Herald | Glendale Heights president charged with filing false police reports: According to the indictment, Khokhar filed the report “knowing at the time of the transmission that there was no reasonable grounds for believing that the offense had been committed.”
* Sun-Times | Randy Garrett, who helped overturn wrongful convictions in Jeanine Nicarico’s killing, dead at 64: Information he unearthed helped free innocent men in the 1983 killing of the 10-year-old Naperville girl. “I know there are at least three innocent men who owe their freedom and reputations to Randy,” attorney Gary Johnson said.
* WICS | Illinois State Treasurer’s returns $11.5 million in unclaimed property in July: The total includes nearly $11.5 million in cash and interest and almost $45,000 in stock value. All told, 12,554 claims were paid.
* CBS Chicago | Oak Forest man charged with trafficking machine gun switches: According to the indictment and a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Prisco sold 25 machine gun conversion devices, a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and a 3D printer to the officer.
* The Atlantic | How the Recession Doomers Got the U.S. Economy So Wrong: Last October, a Bloomberg economic model said that the odds of a U.S. recession this year were 100 percent. No, not 99.99 percent, as in the odds that you’ll avoid being struck by lighting this evening. One hundred percent, as in the odds that you’ll avoid falling into a time-bending wormhole that spits you out in 17th-century Versailles at a dinner table with Louis XIV.
* Crain’s | United Airlines is bulking up in Denver: The Chicago-based airline also has been ramping up its flying out of Denver, where it’s in the middle of an expansion that will increase the number of gates by more than one-third. Denver, one of the country’s fastest-growing cities and a popular travel destination during the COVID-19 pandemic, has enjoyed a faster recovery in air travel than many cities. And United is in a fierce battle in Denver with Southwest Airlines.
* Crain’s | Michael Reese developer nears deal to buy empty Mag Mile building: A joint venture of Chicago-based Farpoint Development and Northfield-based Saxony Capital is under contract to pay just more than $40 million for the empty 117,400-square-foot building at 830 N. Michigan Ave., according to people familiar with the deal. The building has been vacant since Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo closed its store there almost two years ago.
* WCIA | False alarms straining Decatur Police, stretching officers thin: Police Chief Shane Brandel said false alarms make up more than 90 percent of their alerts. Between January and May, they responded to nearly 1,000 burglar alarms and only three of them led to a report.
* Newsweek | ‘Sound of Freedom’ Funder Fabian Marta Arrested For Child Kidnapping: Fabian Marta was charged with felony child kidnapping in July, while since-removed Facebook posts appear to show the same person revealing their pride in funding the film. Marta’s name appears in the movie’s credits among the “investors [who] helped bring Sound of Freedom to theaters.”
* Sun-Times | Beer prices have gone higher and higher. Why?: The Cubs are charging $28.99 for a 26-ounce “beer bat” memorabilia cup filled with cold lager — a little pick-me-up you might well need to get over how much the cup costs.
* NBC Chicago | Where to get Illinois’ best cookies on National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day: Coming in at No. 27 was the cookie at 3 Arts Club Café, inside RH Chicago. Further down on the list, at No. 61, was the chocolate chip cookie at Summer House Santa Monica, located in Lincoln Park. And the 71st best chocolate chip cookie can be found at Defloured, a gluten-free bakery in Andersonville.
* WaPo | Canada’s wildfires have doubled previous records and keep raging: In British Columbia, 350 fires are burning, according to the BC Wildfire service, including 15 “wildfires of note” that are out of control. Numerous communities were placed under evacuation orders this week, because of expanding fires. Another hundred-plus blazes are ongoing in Alberta, with similar numbers in the Northwest Territories.
* The Atlantic | Bird Flu Has Never Done This Before: At bird breeding grounds this spring and summer, the skies have been clearer and quieter, the flocks drastically thinned. Last year, more than 60 percent of the Caspian terns at Lake Michigan vanished; the flock of great skuas at the Hermaness reserve, in Scotland, may have shrunk by 90 percent.
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There’s just gotta be a better way
Friday, Aug 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Illinois Times profiles Stoney…
Recreational cannabis is a growth industry, and Springfield resident Chris Stone plans to take full advantage of the potential behind the once-banned substance. […]
His years in the nascent video gaming industry taught Stone some valuable lessons that he was able to use when he entered the cannabis business. The most important lesson was, don’t expect to turn a profit right away.
“We were the first video gaming parlors in the state, and the state forced us to build out the facilities and actually staff them with employees even though we had no games to actually use,” Stone said. “So we sat there for almost nine months and burned a bunch of cash waiting for the state to allow us to put the machines in place.
“Knowing how the state operated on that, I told the cannabis investors that we were probably going to burn cash for the first year if they were going to operate the same way they did with video gaming,” Stone said. “We might not be able to get product, we might not be able to get open for a while even after we build something out. We incorporated that into our business model and it was definitely the right move.”
Ugh.
* Another example of this in today’s Daily Herald…
As the two-year anniversary of the passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act approaches, the state is continuing to implement several workforce development and grant programs. For some, that rollout hasn’t been fast enough. […]
“When Gov. Pritzker rolled out the renewable energy plan for Illinois approximately two years ago, I was initially very excited,” [Troyce Polk, who founded solar developer Selenium Energy in 2017] said. “Since then, it’s just been a slow rollout of everything. There’s just been a lot of frustration for myself and our business, as well as a lot of other small, renewable energy businesses in this space. The capital or seed money that those programs and grants would provide are essential to getting in the game.”
Polk recently won a bid to complete 100 installations in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago. The residential solar pilot program, which includes two other projects in Waukegan and the Carbondale-Marion area, is administered through the Illinois Power Agency.
Because Selenium Energy is required to complete the installations before receiving payment, Polk is facing challenges in securing operating capital. […]
Polk added that solar power is just beginning to boom in Illinois, and he’s competing with “goliath” national energy companies to secure future bids.
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Question of the day
Friday, Aug 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square on the local costs of the new full-time kindergarten law…
Alison Maley, Government and Public Relations director with the Illinois Principals Association, said the law could be taxing on some school districts.
“One of the major concerns that we had was there was no funding allotted for this and not only will some districts need additional space, they will need additional teachers,” Maley said.
Bryan Soady, associate executive director of Governmental Relations with the Illinois Association of School Boards, said there have been local referendums on this proposal that have been defeated.
“This is a mandate that we think will require volunteer, elected school boards to force this on taxpayers who have stated they don’t want it,” Soady told The Center Square.
Districts that currently do not offer a full-day program can apply for a waiver to extend the implementation date up to two years past the 2027-2028 school years if they meet certain criteria.
The majority of states require school districts to offer either full- or half-day kindergarten, however less than half actually mandate student attendance. California recently proposed legislation that would require kindergarten enrollment and for days to be longer than four hours, but the bill was vetoed in September 2022 by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who cited cost as a factor.
The Illinois Association of School Administrators was also opposed.
* The Question: I asked you about full-day kindergarten yesterday, but do these opinions change your mind at all, or do they reinforce your opinion? Explain either way.
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Do better
Friday, Aug 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When it comes to the pension issue, Chicago is chock full of reporters who are uninformed, gullible and even outright hostile. Before we begin, let’s take another look at this…
SECTION 5. PENSION AND RETIREMENT RIGHTS Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired. (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
* OK, now let’s move on to this weird report from WBBM Radio…
Illinoisans have heard for decades about how bad the state is at funding its pensions for public employees, and now, a new organization is working to make that easier for the public to see.
Katie Dunne is the executive director of Secure Illinois Retirements (SIR), which was launched last week. She said the nonprofit aims to be a resource for teachers, firefighters and other public employees. One way to do that is through SIR’s interactive tool.
“[It] allows visitors to find comprehensive information about their specific fund,” Dunne said.
The tool’s available for anyone to use. It shows, for example, how a treatment plant operator — who worked at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for 34 years before retiring — is only collecting about $38,000 of his $66,000 annual promised pension.
“It’s a true example of a public sector worker in that fund, and then we just had some fun and changed the names,” Dunne said. “So that is a pretty accurate view of where each of the funds are at.”
Emphasis added to highlight the complete falsity of that claim. If you were supposed to receive a $66,000 annual public pension in Illinois, you’re currently receiving $66,000.
* To my eyes, the Secure Illinois Retirements website appears designed to scare pension recipients. This part of the site is what appeared to trip up WBBM…
The State Employees’ Retirement System of Illinois is only 38.67% funded* so let’s imagine that means you would receive only 38% of your promised benefits. If the funded status of your retirement system determined the amount of your pension, then this is the kind of situation you could be facing:
“Let’s imagine.” Ugh. This is a totally made-up scenario. The reality is that the funded status of a retirement system does NOT determine the amount of anyone’s pensions. Pensions have to be paid, whatever these people might ask you to “imagine.”
* If that reporter had simply scrolled down further, there was this buried disclaimer…
+ Disclaimer: The numbers displayed in the graph are intended for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as accurate data. These are projections used to help visualize the current pension system funding levels. Therefore, they should not be used for any analytical or decision-making purposes. Please consult your local pension board for more in-depth information about your specific fund.
The funded ratio of your retirement system will not directly correlate with the portion of your pension you end up receiving.
The likely scenario is that everybody will get their full benefits for as long as the fund is solvent. When a fund becomes insolvent, your retirement is in peril.
When a fund becomes insolvent, the state constitution demands that the government must appropriate the money to at least fund annual pension payments, which the state already does. The state can’t declare bankruptcy. Municipalities can only declare bankruptcy with state permission.
* I asked this group multiple times several days ago where their funding was coming from and what they wanted. I received no response to the funding source question, but here’s part of their response…
Our organization has a simple mission: To educate public sector workers about the pension system and convene discussions about how to begin to move towards a fully funded system. There are many reputable sources and experts out there, but also those who seek to politicize or spread misinformation.
Yeah, well, intentionally or not, their group helped spread information on one of the top radio stations in the region.
The state pension ramp and local pension ramps (including first responders and Chicago) are a process over multiple decades. People look at unfunded liability increases even after billions in government payments and conclude that the state will never get ahead (click here for an example). They should take out their mortgage books and see how it actually works. There will come a time when we catch up, but, in the state’s case, the end is not until 2045 because the payoff was put on a 50-year, back-loaded schedule. For the past few years, pension payments have held to about 20 percent of state spending. That’s high, but sustainable.
* The Chicago first responder funds are most worrisome because they were neglected for so many years. The city was granted a casino license to boost payments. But let’s hope the previous mayor didn’t totally botch the deal or taxes will have to rise even further…
Bally’s Corp. says its chief financial officer’s statement that the gambling company intends to “right-size” its Chicago casino is not an indication the company has decided to reduce or otherwise alter the size of its much-anticipated venue here.
“The comments on our earnings call earlier today reference the opportunity relative to the size of the addressable market and our project scope, which we have never wavered upon,” Christopher Jewett, Bally’s senior vice president of corporate development, told Crain’s in an email. […]
Despite Bally’s statements, the company continues to post mixed financial results, with revenues in the last quarter increasing from $552 million to $606 million compared to 2022, but with the company reporting a net loss of $25.6 million in the latest period. The company also reported $3.31 billion in net long-term debt, with the Chicago casino and entertainment complex projected to cost $1.7 billion. […]
Asked on Thursday’s analyst call how Bally’s will finance the remainder of the $1.7 billion, Bally’s treasurer said the company is “looking at, you know, different forms of financing,” with Glover saying the company is “exploring all options.”
But if you think that this mayor, a former CTU official, is gonna cut off pensioners (even police pensioners), you might want to think again.
…Adding… Katie Dunne at Secure Illinois Retirements…
Secure Illinois Retirements is led by an all-volunteer board, who are retired/current public sector workers from across the state, including union members who serve as teachers, firefighters, and police. As previously shared, we believe a fully funded pension system will take a multi-faceted approach that should be culminated through engagement and collaboration. We are here to be an independent resource and to serve as a catalyst for those discussions across the state.
Our website includes funding ratios provided by the Illinois’ Department of Insurance, an educational course on pensions, and more information on the history of the pension system in Illinois. The graphs you mentioned were included as an example of one’s pension in relation to the funding ratio of the specific fund. We believe that the headline and the disclaimer, “The funded ratio of your retirement system will not directly correlate with the portion of your pension that you end up receiving. The likely scenario is that everybody will get their full benefits for as long as the fund is solvent. When a fund becomes insolvent, your retirement is in peril, ” make it clear that the graph is for illustrative purposes only.
As for our nonprofit, we received seed-funding from Ira Weiss. Ira is a professor at the University of Chicago and the son of two CTU members/retired Chicago Public Schools teachers.
We hope that this helps dispel any misunderstandings.
1) If a news reporter at WBBM was terribly confused, then I don’t see how that wouldn’t also happen to an average citizen.
2) Not mentioned is that Weiss is also a partner in a venture capital fund.
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Some things we missed yesterday…
Friday, Aug 4, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I received this Illinois Latino Agenda press release late yesterday…
Yesterday, members of the Illinois Latino Agenda (ILA) met with Toni Preckwinkle, Chairperson of the Cook County Democratic Party, to discuss the urgency for the Party to increase equity on our state’s highest court by slating a candidate with roots in Latino communities. Given recent retention, it is unlikely that voters will have a chance to elect a Latino Supreme Court Justice in Cook County for at least another ten years.
Although the ultimate decision of who becomes Illinois’ next Supreme Court Justice comes down to voters, the Party’s endorsement has been a seal of approval and a path to victory for all Supreme Court candidates they’ve slated in recent history.
“We thank Chair Preckwinkle for the opportunity to meet with her and discuss the historical underrepresentation of Latinos in our state’s judiciary, and we continue to urge her to consider supporting a Latino to serve as an Illinois Supreme Court Justice for the first time in our state’s history,” said Jose M. Muñoz, Co-Chair of the Illinois Latino Agenda. “We believe that a Latino Supreme Court Justice, who understands the issues we face and has roots in our community, will enrich the Court and help make more inclusive and culturally responsive decisions.”
In the past five years, there have been three vacancies filled in the Illinois Supreme Court–three opportunities to finally bring Latino representation to the state’s highest court. Despite the community’s vocal and united effort to have a Latino appointed in these vacancies, they were ignored, and no Latino was appointed.
“Illinois may be a progressive state, but when it comes to equity in the highest levels of government, it is falling short,” said Sylvia Puente, Co-Chair of the Illinois Latino Agenda and CEO of the Latino Policy Forum. “We can no longer accept a court that is not reflective of the communities it serves, which is why we are strongly advocating for committee members to support a Latino candidate with lived experience who can give voice to the values and needs of our communities.”
Latinos are one of the fastest growing demographics in Illinois, and they make up more than 26% of the population in Cook County and 18% in the state. Even though Illinois has the fifth largest Latino population in the country, it is not on the list of ten states with a Latino Supreme Court Justice.
“Having an open dialogue with Chair Preckwinkle and other Party representatives about the importance of Latino representation in all levels of government is a step in the right direction, and we look forward to working with her to also ensure more Latinos are represented in state Appellate and Circuit Courts,” said Juan Morado, Jr., Chair Emeritus of the Latino Leadership Council and Illinois Latino Agenda member. “We are now counting on the support of the Party’s committeemen to help Illinois create a more equitable judiciary.”
I ran into Appellate Justice Jesse Reyes at a political function last night. I’d heard he was out there working the hustings, and it appears to check out. Justice Reyes wants to run for the top court, but Supreme Court Justice Joy Cunningham was appointed last year (an appointment Reyes also sought) and is up for election in 2024. A highly credentialed Black woman with an Irish-sounding surname is gonna be tough to beat, with or without party support. And she is expected to have that party support. Progressives, including some (not all) Latino progressives, appear to be wary of Reyes. This could very well be yet another in a series of intra-party battles next year.
* I received this release yesterday as well…
State Senator Ram Villivalam’s comprehensive public transit plan and commuter benefits legislation were signed into law Friday.
“As we work on a comprehensive solution to address the funding challenges that our major public transit agencies are facing, these laws are critical first steps to making our public transit operations more accessible, equitable, environmentally conscious, transparent and safer,” said Villivalam (D-Chicago). “These laws will significantly assist the hundreds of thousands of riders who use Illinois transit every day and encourage more residents to do the same.”
House Bill 1342 allows public transit agencies to suspend riders if the rider commits assault, battery, sexual assault or violations of public indecency toward an employee or another commuter. It also provides for a formal appeals process.
To help survivors of domestic violence seek the services they need and deserve, the legislation requires the Regional Transportation Authority to distribute 25,000 pre-loaded $20 fare cards to domestic violence service providers. Villivalam’s law also provides for reduced fares for youth as they travel to and from their place of employment. Further, CTA, PACE and METRA are required to purchase buses that are zero-emission come July 1, 2026, which puts the state on a clearer path to achieve the climate goals that residents are advocating for.
House Bill 2068 requires employers to allow employees to use pre-tax earnings on a transit pass that would be deducted through the employee’s payroll before tax, lowering the tax burden for both the employer and employee.
The covered employer must be located in Cook County or specified townships in collar counties, have at least 50 full time employees, and be located at an address within one mile of a transit service. Under the new law, the Regional Transit Authority will create a publicly searchable map of addresses that are located within one mile of a transit service.
“We are looking at every community across Illinois to ensure their transit options are accessible and affordable,” Villivalam said. “I am honored to have pushed for improvements to safety and increased accessibility for transit as we work to find ways to help our residents who ride Illinois transportation every day.”
House Bill 1342 and House Bill 2068 were signed into law on Friday.
* And this…
Governor JB Pritzker signed HB2879 into law today, establishing the Illinois Farm to Food Bank Program to expand resources for food bank systems across the state while supporting local farmers. The bill creates mechanisms for acquiring and distributing fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, dairy, and eggs to organizations providing free food for those in need. The program initially began with a pilot in 2021 with grant funding from USDA and is made permanent through this bill.
“Illinois farmers are producing some of the finest food in the country, and now that produce, dairy, and meat can go directly to Illinoisans struggling with food insecurity,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “It’s good for our farmers’ bottom line, it’s good for those in need, and it’s good for our state—a win for everyone in Illinois.”
The program, administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services with a $2 million investment in FY24, seeks to address the strain placed on nonprofits and other organizations due to increased food bank usage while also supporting local farmers. During the two years of the pilot program, nearly 2.5 million pounds of food were donated.
Food acquired via this program must be from Illinois producers and must meet market-grade quality and consumption levels. However, much of the food going to the program is excess food that would have been wasted without foodbanks as an outlet. The lack of centralized donation program was a barrier to farmers looking to donate in the past.
The bill also includes capacity-building grants for capital improvements needed to store and transport fresh food to better reach underserved communities. The program focuses on fresh and nutritious foods, which are often difficult to secure at many food banks. The bill also creates a Farm to Food Bank Advisory Council to support and advise the work of the program and establish and build relationships with agricultural producers.
* Illinois National Guard…
When Senior Master Sgt. David Schreffler started riding with Gold Star Mission it was a great way to combine two of his greatest passions, bicycle riding and a desire to honor and remember fallen U.S. service members.
The Illinois Air National Guard NCO never thought it would bring him across the ocean to ride in honor of the fallen service members of our nation’s staunch ally, Poland. But, from Aug. 8-12, Schreffler will join five other volunteer U.S. riders and two volunteer support staff on the first Polish Veterans Bike Rally.
“It is a great way to ensure the fallen are not forgotten,” said Schreffler, the Chief of Quality Assurance with the 217th Engineering and installation Squadron, 183rd Wing, based in Springfield.
The rally, sponsored by the Polish Association of Families of Fallen Soldiers, will travel 538 kilometers (almost 335 miles) throughout Poland from the city of Siedlce to Rzeszów, with stops in Terespol, Chełm, Zamość, and Stalowa Wola. It is expected to include about 60 cyclists and is modeled on the Gold Star Mission’s annual Gold Star 500 in Illinois. Last year, the Polish had 16 participants in the Gold Star 500 including seven Polish Army Soldiers, six students and three Polish Gold Star Family members.
* ILGOP…
Friend,
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Chicago suburb starts making reparations payouts
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* And this is from last night, so we didn’t miss it, but it’s quite something…
Politicians are usually booed at Chicago events. I saw Harold Washington booed during the Chicago Blues Festival back in the day. My out of town brother was horrified.
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* Rockford Register Star…
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of Illinois’ newly signed Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act.
“The bill is painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment,” Judge Iain Johnston said Thursday in federal court in Rockford.
It was just one week ago when Gov. JB Pritzker signed SB1909 into law barring crisis pregnancy centers from using “misinformation, deceptive practices, or misrepresentation” in order to interfere with access to abortion services or emergency contraception. Violators faced up to $50,000 fines. […]
Johnston said, “There’s no doubt who the Attorney General wants to win or lose in the market place of ideas, but the government doesn’t get to decide that. The people do.”
* Crain’s…
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The preliminary injunction halts a recently passed law that amends the Consumer Fraud & Deceptive Business Practices Act to specify that the act applies to crisis pregnancy centers that deceive women who are seeking abortion services. […]
During a press conference last week, Raoul said the law simply clarifies that the state’s long-standing deceptive practices law applies to crisis pregnancy centers that use practices like deceiving patients that they are part of existing abortion clinics or removing people from near an abortion clinic to delay them from entering that clinic.
* Thomas More Society…
At an August 3, 2023, hearing in United States District Court, a federal judge granted a motion requested by Thomas More Society attorneys for a preliminary injunction seeking to immediately halt Illinois’ new law attacking life-affirming maternal health care centers. The lawsuit, National Institute of Family Life Advocates et al. v. Raoul, asserts that this law—enacted on July 27, 2023, and amending the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act—was designed to target pregnancy help ministries solely because of their pro-life message.
“Free Speech won today in the Land of Lincoln—pro-life advocates across Illinois can breathe a sigh of relief they won’t be pursued for ‘misinformation’ by Attorney General Kwame Raoul,” stated Peter Breen, Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation for the Thomas More Society. Breen argued the case on behalf of National Institute of Family Life Advocates and other pro-life ministries, including pregnancy care centers in Illinois.
“Across the nation, pregnancy help ministries are being discriminated against by laws that target their life-affirming work,” said Breen. “The injunction granted today sends a strong, clear message to the country that the First Amendment protects pro-life speech.”
Read the Verified Complaint for Temporary and Permanent Injunction and Other Relief filed on July 27, 2023, in the United States District Court – Northern District of Illinois Western Division, by Thomas More Society attorneys on behalf of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, Women’s Pregnancy Services, Rockford Family Initiative, Relevant Pregnancy Options Center, and Pro-Life Action League, in National Institute of Family Life Advocates et al. v. Raoul here [https://tinyurl.com/4wvsvryb].
The governor will be in Schaumburg this afternoon, so maybe we’ll get a react. I’ve also reached out to Planned Parenthood and Personal PAC.
…Adding… With a hat tip to a commenter, here’s a press release from early 2020…
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the White House announced the nominations of David Dugan to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, Iain Johnston to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and Franklin Valderrama to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
“We are pleased that the President nominated Judge Dugan, Judge Johnston, and Judge Valderrama to fill vacant district court judgeships in Illinois. All three nominees were carefully reviewed by nonpartisan screening committees we established to evaluate potential candidates, and we expect these nominees to be diligent, thoughtful, and principled District Court Judges. We look forward to guiding their nominations through the Senate.” […]
If confirmed, Iain D. Johnston will serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Iain Johnston currently serves as a United States Magistrate Judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Before taking the bench in 2013, Judge Johnston was a unit supervisor for the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and in private practice at Altheimer & Gray, Holland & Knight LLP, and Johnston Greene LLC. Judge Johnston also serves as an adjunct professor at UIC John Marshall Law School. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Johnston served as a law clerk to Judge Philip Godfrey Reinhard of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Judge Johnston earned his B.S., cum laude, from Rockford College and his J.D., cum laude, from UIC John Marshall Law School.
…Adding… Jennifer Welch, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois…
I am frustrated that a federal judge temporarily halted a new law targeting organizations actively working to deceive people trying to access health care.
For decades, crisis pregnancy centers have targeted our patients using deceptive and false practices. Often crisis pregnancy centers provide misleading and medically inaccurate information, sometimes deliberately misdiagnosing patients or misdating their pregnancies so people think they have more time to decide about abortion or that they are past the time when they can have an abortion.
We are grateful the State of Illinois continues to fight for our patients to have expanded access to the essential health care they need and deserve.
…Adding… Lisa Battisfore, President of Reproductive Transparency Now…
The news of this preliminary injunction against SB1909 is disappointing, but not surprising. We have expected that this would be the path forward from the very beginning. Illinois is mapping out the pathway that other states will eventually follow. Which is why we should all be watching NIFLA v. Raoul closely.
To be clear, the Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act does not compel speech. Anti-abortion centers simply must not lie to their clients, and must not deceive or mislead in service to their mission to prevent people from accessing abortion care.
We must ask ourselves: Why is it that these anti-abortion groups are so concerned about being prohibited from lying and deceiving?
While covering this story, we implore members of the media to ask probing questions about anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers,” such as:
• Who are the medical providers on staff (if there are any) and how often are they on-site? What are their specialties and credentials?
• What must clients do in order to receive material support? And what material support do they receive in exchange for those requirements?
• Do they have a separate website for clients and donors? How is the organization’s mission described differently between those websites?
• What personal information are they collecting about clients? Are they bound by patient data privacy laws to keep that information protected?
• Do they promote “abortion pill reversal”? What clinical studies are they using to justify this unproven–and potentially dangerous–protocol?
We have many examples of pamphlets and forms from CPCs in Illinois, available upon request.
…Adding… I asked for examples from the group. Click here and here.
…Adding… Gov. JB Pritzker…
I’m disappointed that the far-right is interfering with the ability for women to access safe medical care without deception or lies. This law is constitutional and I am confident that the law will ultimately be found constitutional and will continue to work alongside Attorney General Raoul to ensure Illinois patients are protected from misinformation.
…Adding… Sarah Garza Resnick CEO of Personal PAC…
We know the anti-abortion movement is fond of forum shopping, so this latest move is not surprising. Consumers in Illinois are protected against fraud and deception, and that has not changed. People have just as much of a right to bring a complaint against so-called crisis pregnancy centers engaged in deceptive practices as they do against a car dealership, a payday lender, or any other business. We look forward to working with Attorney General Raoul and our allies to ensure that CPCs are held accountable for deceptive practices.
…Adding… Leader McCombie…
After a federal judge granted a motion to immediately halt a new law targeting crisis pregnancy centers, House Republican Leader Tony McCombie issued the following statement:
“House Republicans consistently said this bill violated the First Amendment and US District Judge Johnston confirmed that concern. We will continue to fight to protect women and the care they receive from pregnancy centers.”
Below is Leader McCombie’s Floor Speech during the bill’s initial debate in the Illinois House:
https://youtu.be/m_hMqP1ulQg.
…Adding… Freedom Caucus…
The IL Freedom Caucus is issuing the following statement on a federal judge’s decision to grant a stay in the National Institute of Family Life Advocates et al. v. Raoul lawsuit.
“This is a victory for free speech. Crisis pregnancy centers will continue to be able to operate while this case is being litigated without fear of being harassed or being shut down. We are confident that in the end the courts will side with common sense and the Constitution and ultimately overturn this outrageous law.
The people who volunteer at crisis pregnancy centers are simply exercising their First Amendment rights. The women seeking help from crisis pregnancy centers do so of their own volition. Crisis pregnancy centers are up front and honest about their mission and about their pro-life views. The only concern about the crisis pregnancy is not the volunteers who work at these clinics but the deranged pro-abortion lunatics who are setting off bombs at these clinics to intimidate pro-life people. Instead of denying the free speech rights of pro-life activists, Kwame Raoul should be focused on the mentally unstable pro-abortion advocates who believe their political world view provides just cause to commit violence against people with whom they disagree.”
The Illinois Freedom Caucus is comprised of State Representatives Chris Miller (R-Oakland), chairman; Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City), vice-chairman; Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich); Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville); Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur); Jed Davis (R-Newark) and David Friess (R-Red Bud). The members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus are members of the Illinois General Assembly who are advocating for limited government, lower taxes and accountability and integrity in government.
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Friday, Aug 4, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* Crain’s | Judge freezes Illinois law targeting anti-abortion pregnancy centers: U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston late Thursday granted Thomas More Society attorneys’ request for a preliminary injunction seeking to immediately halt Illinois’ new law, the firm said in a statement.
* Rockford Register Star | Injunction halts Illinois’ new law aimed at ending pregnancy center deceptive practices: Johnston listened to over four hours of testimony from anti-abortionists who said the law has had a chilling effect on their First Amendment-protected rights such as handing literature that identifies alternatives to abortion.
* Sun-Times | More evidence that car insurance pricing in Illinois is biased against the poor: The group’s report echoes a Chicago Sun-Times Watchdogs investigation that tested insurance companies’ online price-quote tools and found price disparities that hurt women, renters, people working jobs that don’t require college and people living on the “wrong” side of a ZIP code dividing line.
* Dewitt Daily | President of Illinois Insurance Association of Independent Agents Hopes State Stays Out Insurance Business: A Clinton insurance agent who heads a statewide board of insurance agents is hoping the State of Illinois will stay out of the insurance business as costs go up for all agencies right now.
* Tribune | Racist watermelon-eating contest alleged as more Northwestern football hazing lawsuits mount: The claims describing a forced watermelon-eating contest appeared in two lawsuits involving anonymous players who were on the team from 2004 to 2008. The players were subject to an “archaic and disturbing culture,” the lawsuits brought by Hart, McLaughlin & Eldrige and Romanucci & Blandin alleged.
* WSPY | 75th District State Representative says Republicans won’t have much new legislation during fall session: Davis says Republicans might try to resurrect some bills from the spring session. Davis he’ll be watching out for bills that start as one thing, but are gutted and changed to something else.
* Tribune | Bally’s pushes Medinah temporary casino opening to September: “Obviously we’re a little delayed from what we communicated to you last time on opening,” Marcus Glover, Bally’s CFO, said during the call.
* News Channel 20 | Illinois State Sen. Jil Tracy reveals the bond uniting lawmakers at the Capitol: State Senator Jil Tracy sat down with Mackenzie LaPorte speaking on the Com-Ed trail, what state leaders need to change for next session, and reveals the bond uniting lawmakers over at the Capitol.
* 21st Show | Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton talks about new Emmett Till Monument: Juliana Stratton, the Lieutenant governor of Illinois joins the show to discuss the signing of the Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Chicago. Also, we hear the Lt. Governor’s thoughts on the SAFE-T-Act, the state of legal and commercial Cannabis, the ruling of affirmative action, and more.
* Sun-Times | Homicides, shootings in July down compared with last year; 60% of carjacking arrests are juveniles, police say: According to CPD, 59 people were killed across Chicago in July, nearly 12% lower than last year. The number of people shot in July compared to last year fell from 441 to 352.
* Chalkbeat | Chicago public schools run by principals given more independence saw better student achievement: study: The analysis looked at 44 elementary schools that joined ISP between 2016 and 2018. Those schools saw pass rates for state reading and math tests grow, on average, by about 4 percentage points more than similar schools that weren’t part of ISP, according to the study. (Comparison schools were chosen based on things like demographics and test scores.)
* Tribune | Chicago sues property management firm over alleged ‘rent-to-own’ scheme targeting South Side residents: The city filed a lawsuit against the now-defunct Vision Property Management LLC, its successor FTE Networks Inc. and affiliates over “deceptive and unfair practices in the course of selling and leasing properties to predominantly low-income Chicagoans,” according to a Thursday news release from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office. The complaint, filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, alleges the company’s actions violate Chicago’s consumer protection laws.
* Crain’s | Here’s what a $4,350 ticket gets you at Lollapalooza: A platinum ticket, which costs $4,350 for all four days and $2,000 for a single day, offers festivalgoers access to lounges with free food and beverage, front-of-stage viewing at six stages, golf cart shuttle transportation, a concierge service, festival merchandise and more. Also included, in typical Lollapalooza fashion: hair and glitter treatments at the festival.
* Tribune | Lollapalooza’s new contract with Chicago could make this year’s fest the biggest ever, and give the city a bigger cut: But besides the festival’s usual public safety, weather and traffic challenges, this year marks the first test of a new contract overseen by a new mayor, Brandon Johnson. The deal to keep Lolla in Chicago for at least another 10 years — inked by the mayor Johnson later defeated, Lori Lightfoot — makes this year’s fest potentially the biggest Lollapalooza yet: It allows up to 115,000 attendees per day, up 15,000 from the previous contract.
* Center Square | After $64.8 million in upgrades, Illinois State Fair opens next week: In addition to agriculture exhibits, live music, fair food and rides, there will also be a mullet competition. After a year being closed, the Multi Purpose Arena will be back open following $8.6 million in renovations, among $56.2 million spent on the grounds over the past five years.
* SJ-R | Illinois State Fair is right around the corner. What to know about concerts, food and more: Admission for adults ages 13 to 59 is $5 per person Sunday through Thursday, and $10 per person on Friday and Saturday. Seniors 60 years of age and older are $3. Children ages 12 and under are free.
* WBEZ | There’s no ‘New Yorkland’ or ‘Bostonland,’ so why ‘Chicagoland’?: The term “Chicagoland” is part of the region’s DNA. You’ve probably seen it plastered on car dealership billboards or grocery store coupons. Maybe you’ve even heard the weatherman refer to “sunny skies across Chicagoland.”
* Daily Herald | Legal weed at outdoor concert? Mundelein prepares for purportedly state’s first to allow it: The Miracle at Mundelein will be hosted across the street from Rise, the village’s lone dispensary, at 1325 Armour Blvd., Sept. 9-10. Attendees will be allowed to bring cannabis they purchased at an Illinois dispensary, still in its original packaging, into the festival as well as order from Rise.
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Live coverage
Friday, Aug 4, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ScribbleLive is down. Twitt- I mean X has stopped allowing people to embed list feeds on websites. So, click here or here to follow breaking news.
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Afternoon roundup
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Crain’s…
Exelon has set aside more than $46 million in connection with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission’s four-year-old probe of lobbying by the company’s Commonwealth Edison utility.
The SEC probe, one of the final outstanding legal and regulatory matters stemming from ComEd’s nearly decade-long bribery scheme to curry favor with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, appears to be nearing resolution.
Exelon accrued $46.2 million in the second quarter for a potential payout in the SEC investigation, which remains ongoing, according to an SEC filing Wednesday. Chief Financial Officer Jeanne Jones confirmed to analysts in the company’s Wednesday earnings call that the money was set aside in connection with the SEC probe. […]
“You can see it’s treated similarly to how we had treated the initial [Deferred Prosecution Agreement] amount,” Jones told analysts, referring to how Exelon booked the charge. That suggests that — like the $200 million fine — Exelon won’t try to pass the cost along to ratepayers of ComEd and other utilities Exelon owns.
* ABC 7…
State and local leaders were making a new push Thursday to get federal funding to help improve the rail infrastructure in the Chicago area.
The billion-dollar project would revamp Union Station and the surrounding tracks.
The lawmakers said this plan would continue to keep Chicago on the map as the third busiest transit hub in the country.
Gov. JB Pritzker, along with Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Congressman Mike Quigley, Mayor Brandon Johnson and other state and city leaders are proposing the $1.1 billion infrastructure plan, called the Chicago Hub Improvement Project, to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
* Leader Lightford…
– Building upon her steadfast commitment to ensure Illinois schools are taking a trauma-responsive approach, Senator Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford championed a new law to bring more training and resources to the education system.
“School officials should be equipped to identify the warning signs of mental illness, trauma and suicidal behavior in youth,” said Lightford (D-Maywood). “Training is crucial to encouraging appropriate trauma-responsive intervention and techniques in schools.”
The Whole Child Task Force establishes an equitable, safe, inclusive and supportive environment in all schools for students dealing with trauma and mental health issues. The task force collects data on adverse childhood experiences and trauma, as well as the total number of school counselors, social workers, nurses and psychologists in Illinois schools.
As a part of the Black Caucus’ Four Pillar Agenda that Lightford spearheaded, House Bill 342 implements recommendations to the Whole Child Task Force Report to improve schools in Illinois by ensuring that all schools are equipped with training and resources to meet the diverse trauma and mental health needs of their students.
Under the law, the Illinois State Board of Education would create a Children’s Adversity Index, which would measure community childhood trauma exposure across the population of children 3-18 years old by May 31, 2025.
“For all students to succeed in schools and beyond, we need to ensure every school is equipped to meet the diverse needs,” said Lightford. “We need to continue laying the foundation for Illinois to become a national leader in addressing student needs and well-being.”
House Bill 342 was signed into law Thursday.
* Bloomberg…
Workers in the Midwest are coming into offices more often than the rest of the country, new research shows.
The region’s offices posted a 60% weekly average peak occupancy rate in the first half of the year, the highest in the nation by far, according to data from Basking.io, a workplace-occupancy analytics company.
The Northeast averaged just 24% peak occupancy over the same period. Midwestern offices also enjoyed more frequent visits compared with the rest of the US, with a greater share of people coming in four or five days a week. Basking.io calculates occupancy rates as a share of building capacity, as opposed to other workplace data providers who track attendance compared with a pre-pandemic baseline.
* Cook County LGBTQ Caucus…
Dear Committeepeople:
We write today as LGBTQ+ electeds to urge you to support MWRD Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis for slating by the Cook County Democratic Party when you convene in August.
Not only is Commissioner Brady-Davis a history making candidate as the first Black trans woman appointed by the Governor to countywide office, she is prepared to hit the ground running in support of our diverse slate of candidates. She’s also uniquely qualified for the role of Commissioner at an unprecedented time of challenge for our wastewater system and by extension, our homes.
Commissioner Brady-Davis has genuine environmental justice credentials through her work with the Sierra Club for the last 6 years. More significantly, her communications skills from that job will be more important than ever as residents struggle to prepare for and deal with urban flooding.
While we have worked to diversify our county slate over the years, the inclusion of LGBTQ candidates has been spotty, at best. And the reality for all of us is that while we appreciate the role LGBTQ judges play in our court system, once they’re elected, they are largely invisible to the community at large, making it difficult for the community to grow our political power and visibility. We urge you to join us in supporting Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis for the 2 year MWRD term in August.
Signatories are at the link.
* WJBD…
Congressional candidate and former Republican candidate for Governor Darren Bailey visited with those at the Marion County Fairgrounds Wednesday night. […]
Bailey says there is no way that Joe Biden will be the Democratic candidate for President. He expects the candidate will either be Illinois Governor JB Pritzker or California Governor Gavin Newsom because of the personal wealth they can bring to the campaign.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* CBS Chicago | 2 new lawsuits filed Thursday against Northwestern University: One of the complaints Thursday has been filed on behalf of John Doe No. 3. Managing Partner at Levin & Perconti Law, Margaret Battersby Black said John Doe No. 3 was a player at Northwestern for four years who “witnessed all of the heinous acts that have been described in the many lawsuits that have been filed.”
* Crain’s | Hydrogen hubs form backbone of ‘once in a generation’ clean energy effort: The department will select six to 10 sites to split $7 billion to build networks that link producers, infrastructure providers and customers across multiple industries, including transportation. The government will spend an additional $1 billion to jump-start hydrogen demand in the early years of production. Illinois is part of the competition to secure one of the hubs.
* Daily Herald | Why several taxing bodies didn’t get $3.12 million in property taxes they were owed: The tardy funds totaled about $3.12 million, according to Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega, who announced the distributions last week. Vega defeated incumbent Robin M. O’Connor for the post last November. After being sworn in, Vega said he directed managers to identify ways to streamline operations, provide better service and update policy.
* Sun-Times | Bridgeport bank failure fallout: Dead CEO’s sister pleads guilty in collapse of Washington Federal Bank for Savings: There was no indication she knew that her late brother had been running the embezzlement scheme, which federal authorities continue to investigate. Sources said she was in a position, though, to know what was going on at Washington Federal for more than a decade.
* WICS | 5-year-old injured at Effingham County Fair passed away: At 1:05 p.m. on Sunday at the Effingham County Fair, a horse-racing pace car driven by Jerry W. Young, of Jackson, Miss. struck Finn with an extended starting gate while passing the grandstand.
* KHQA | Unraveling Randy Frese’s political journey and his efforts towards bipartisan collaboration in Illinois: Rep. Randy Frese sat down with Mackenzie LaPorte to discuss the state budget, finding common ground and support across the aisle, and his mindset going into the next legislative session.
* Shaw Local | Red crown rot an emerging issue in Illinois: “This is not a new disease to soybeans, it’s just new to this area,” Bradley said at a University of Illinois agronomy field day at the Orr Agricultural Center near Baylis. “It was reported in Pike County for the first time (of anywhere in the state) in 2018. It has continued to spread.”
* NBC Chicago | Hammerhead worms: what to know about the toxic worm that could be in Illinois gardens: If spotted, it’s not safe to touch. This is because the worm contains a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin, also known as “TTX”. This neurotoxin prevents neurons and certain muscle cells from working and is the same toxin found in pufferfish. Although served as a delicacy in Japan, the pufferfish can be deadly if prepared incorrectly. The hammerhead worm contains some of this same toxin, though in a seemingly lower amount.
* Block Club Chicago | Lincoln Square’s Leavitt Street Getting Low-Stress Bike Route: The Leavitt Street Greenway will create a continuous, low-stress bicycle connection between Leavitt and Bowmanville Avenue, near Rosehill Cemetery, and Leavitt and Diversey Parkway, near the North Branch of the Chicago River.
* SJ-R | Vincent Speranza, popular WWII veteran and hero, passes away at 98: Vincent J. Speranza, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II who became a hero in Belgium, died at Springfield Memorial Hospital Wednesday after a short illness.
* AP | Adidas brings in $437 million from the first Yeezy sale. Part of that will go to anti-hate groups: “This is much better than destroying and writing off the inventory and allows us to make substantial donations to organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change and Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism,” Gulden said.
* Sun-Times | Lollapalooza 2023 headliners: Who’s performing, set list predictions: Lollapalooza kicks off Thursday, and with so many acts to see, concert-goers have a lot of homework. If you want to come in prepared, you might be searching for a setlist.
* NBC Chicago | 21 Illinois restaurants made Yelp’s Top 100 in the Midwest. Here’s the full list: Coming in at No. 1 on the list was Blues City Deli in St. Louis, Missouri, about 300 miles outside of Chicago. Nabbing the second spot on the list though, was Pa Lian, in suburban Wheaton.
* Fox Chicago | Air and Water Show takes over Chicago skies this month: This is the largest free show in the United States and can be viewed along the lakefront from Fullerton Avenue to Oak Street, with North Avenue Beach as the focal point.
* Fox Chicago | Illinois State Fair preparations begin in Springfield: “This year, the multipurpose arena will be open. It’s an $8.6 million renovation. There’s new HVAC going into the coliseum . That’s to make it a year round use facility, which will absolutely be amazing,” said Illinois director of Agriculture Jerry Costello.
* SJ-R | Drink up! Illinois ranks as third best state in US for beer lovers, report says: The survey utilized three combined data points to develop the ranking of the 50 states. The data points include quality, quantity and affordability. Illinois ranked seventh in quality, 32nd in quantity and first in affordability, for an average score of 13.3.
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Here we go again
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Brenden Moore on the new law authorizing some non-citizens to become law enforcement officers…
Longtime statehouse observer Charlie Wheeler — once a reporter and later the director of the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois Springfield — had an overarching maxim for the hundreds of reporters who were under his tutelage: “Read the bill.” […]
Yes, the law states that non-citizens legally authorized to work in the U.S. and DACA recipients can apply to be police officers. However, they must meet all the same requirements, besides citizenship, as any other applicant. […]
And, more importantly, they must be “authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess a firearm.”
This is crucial context. The federal government generally allows permanent residents to purchase and possess guns. But it does not currently allow DACA recipients to do so. This means that until there’s a change in federal policy, many if not most DACA recipients likely will have to wait if the want to become police officers in Illinois.
There are some workarounds at the local level. In suburban Blue Island, for instance, there is a now a police recruit who is a DACA recipient. If successful in becoming an officer, the recruit would not be able to bring home a service weapon.
It’s a thoughtful piece, so go read the rest.
* Meanwhile, in news media “opposite land,” here’s Fox 32…
There are currently more than 30,000 DACA recipients living and working in Illinois, while at the same time unprecedented officer shortages statewide.
However, filling those vacant jobs with non-citizens is a non-starter for former Chicago mayoral candidate Dr. Willie Wilson, who, in an exclusive interview with FOX 32, condemned the legislation.
“I cannot go to China or any other country in the world being a non-citizen and become a police officer, and I think that’s wrong,” said Wilson. […]
Dr. Wilson isn’t willing to wait to see if the new law puts more boots on the ground. He said he has spoken to attorneys and if the law is not repealed before taking effect on January 1, 2024, he’s prepared to take his fight to the courts.
The station apparently didn’t ask what grounds Wilson believed he had to sue in the first place.
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* The website is here. The museum is a project of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Press release…
The Mobile Museum of Tolerance (MMOT) will be at the 2023 Illinois State Fair, offering visitors a chance to use their voices to speak up against bullying, racism, anti-Semitism, hate, and intolerance. Since 2021, this one-of-a-kind free traveling mobile education center has reached over 27,000 people and visited more than 200 schools.
When:
From August 10th to August 20th, the MMOT will be open every day from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, except on Saturdays. We will be located directly south of the Lincoln Stage.
MMOT Workshops:
Immerse yourself in historical narratives during your MMOT visit. Choose from the following videos:
• Civil Rights: Watch a 9-minute documentary featuring numerous American civil rights heroes. Draw comparisons between the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s with other fights for civil rights throughout US history.
• The Anne Frank Story: Experience a short film about the life of Anne Frank, followed by a discussion on the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, and resistance. This workshop aims to enhance visitors’ abilities to become proactive members of society, influencing positive change.
• The Power of Ordinary People: Explore the different roles of ordinary people as Upstanders or Bystanders during the Holocaust in a 6-minute video. Following the video, join the discussion on how these roles relate to the present day, and be encouraged to take an active part in preventing hate and promoting tolerance in your communities.
* More Illinois State Fair news…
* Illinois State Fair unclaimed property auction includes rare treasures: Rare treasures, like a 14-karat white gold woman’s double halo-style ring and a $500 bill from 1934, will go up for auction at the Illinois State Fair later this month. State Treasurer Michael Frerichs oversees the auction, which will also feature collectible basketball cards of seven Hall of Famers.
* Illinois State Fair Announces Final 2023 Grandstand Headliner: The Grayslake-originating band Chevelle, whose ’90s hits include “The Red” and “Send The Pain Below,” will perform on Friday, Aug. 18. … Chevelle joins a star-studded Grandstand lineup that includes Alanis Morissette, Tim McGraw, Nelly, Ja Rule, REO Speedwagon and Maren Morris.
* Sensory friendly station, rides find home at Illinois state fair
* Her bull-riding butter mini-cow slathered in hopes of a four-peat win: Pam Martin is betting her reign as the Illinois State Fair’s Miniature Butter Cow sculpting queen on 8 seconds and hoping her dreams of a four-peat don’t melt in the heat of competition. “Bessie’s 8 Second Ride” is Martin’s entry in the 2023 contest sponsored by Illinois Times, Prairie Farms and M.J. Kellner. The three sponsored the Miniature Butter Cow contest for the first time in 2020, after the Illinois State Fair was canceled amid the pandemic.
* Veterans and Gold Star families day at the Illinois State Fair: The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA), the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and the Illinois State Fair invite veterans and their family members to enjoy a free day at the Illinois State Fair on Sunday, August 13. … 10:00 a.m. JROTC competition begins; 10:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Veteran Benefit Expo: The Shed; 11:00 a.m. Main Program; 11:30 a.m. – 2:45 p.m. Entertainment: Lincoln Stage; 3:00 p.m. JROTC Award Ceremony; 4:00 p.m. Veteran Parade: Grandstand Avenue
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Better management, please
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The CPD rules are here. Chicago OIG…
The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has published the results of its inquiry into the enforcement of the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) Rules 21 and 22, which require members to report any information concerning misconduct committed by other members. OIG’s inquiry was mandated by the consent decree entered in Illinois v. Chicago.
OIG found that, while both CPD policies and the consent decree recognize that CPD members may face retaliation for reporting misconduct and require the availability of anonymous reporting mechanisms to protect reporting members, those same sources of authority simultaneously provide that anonymous reports do not satisfy members’ duty to report. Consequently, CPD members are currently operating under two sets of policies at odds with one another—one that ostensibly allows them to report misconduct in a myriad of ways, and another that invalidates any reporting done outside CPD’s chain of command.
An anonymous but verified reporting system created by OIG in 2017 permits members to make anonymous complaints for which they receive a tracking number, permitting them to prove their compliance with the duty to report if necessary. Despite recognition by the Independent Monitoring Team that such a system may suffice to permit anonymous complaints to satisfy members’ duties pursuant to Rules 21 and 22, CPD has done little to support or promote use of this tool or any like it.
“The so-called ‘code of silence’ which has, historically, protected CPD members from appropriate accountability for misconduct has no place in the CPD of today or tomorrow. That there is a duty to report misconduct on CPD’s books has been insufficient to prevent or eliminate the code of silence; to leave it behind us, the rules setting out the duty to report misconduct must be meaningfully, thoroughly, and thoughtfully enforced,” said Deborah Witzburg, Inspector General for the City of Chicago. “Critically, we must provide a mechanism to allow CPD members to fulfill their duty while protecting them from risk of retaliation for doing so.”
* From the OIG report’s conclusion…
The 2017 U.S. Department of Justice report found that “given the code of silence within CPD and a potential fear of retaliation, there are valid reasons a complainant may seek to report police misconduct anonymously, particularly if the complainant is a fellow officer.”98 CPD’s Rules and Regulations include requirements for members to report misconduct, and the Department advises members of their duty to report misconduct and criminal actions as they go through basic recruit training. However, the current guidelines, which require members to report most misconduct through their chain of command, leave members vulnerable to retaliation or censure. Given the importance of holding members accountable for misconduct, CPD should work to ensure members are aware of and can fulfill their reporting duties using the full spectrum of reporting options available to them. Additionally, COPA and CPD’s BIA should consistently pursue Rules 21 or 22 violations, as applicable, so as not to preclude any thorough analysis of patterns in the frequency of these rule violations not only across the Department but also within an individual member’s disciplinary history.
That there is a duty to report misconduct on CPD’s books has been insufficient to prevent or eliminate a “code of silence.” The rules setting out that duty must be meaningfully, thoroughly, and thoughtfully enforced
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Question of the day
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Zareen Syed at the Tribune…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill Wednesday requiring public school districts in Illinois to establish full-day kindergarten by the 2027-28 school year, the first of many education bills expected to be greenlighted in the coming weeks. […]
“Full day doesn’t mean you’re adding to the curriculum,” [Democratic state Rep. Mary Beth Canty of Arlington Heights, who introduced the bill in the House] said Wednesday. “It just means you’re getting more opportunities for the teachers to go through the material in a way that is helpful for themselves and their students. In a 2½-hour, half-day school day, there’s just not enough time to truly get through the curriculum with everything else that we’re asking teachers to do — making time for art and recess and gym.”
Canty said parents who live in districts without the option of full-day kindergarten often face both social and economic barriers, particularly if all adult family members work outside the home.
“The cost of child care is really prohibitive when you only have a half-day program and the hours can be really wonky for working families,” she said, adding that her kids, now in sixth and third grades, would hop on a bus after half-day kindergarten in Arlington Heights District 25 and go to the elementary school for an after-school program to be picked up later because midday transportation was an issue. […]
“What may be right for some districts may not be right for others,” Canty said. “So that’s why in the bill, we don’t dictate how you accomplish full-day kindergarten. It’s just that you do have to provide it.”
* From Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford’s press release after the bill passed the Senate…
Parents who live in districts without the option of full-day kindergarten are often faced with additional barriers to preparing their children for early elementary school. These barriers include, but are not limited to, mid-day transportation, loss of income due to being home with the child or finding additional childcare, and ensuring developmentally appropriate activities are being provided throughout the day.
* Center Square the day it passed the House…
The measure phases the policy in over two years so schools can garner funding for the change, which is more than half the state’s schools, according to state Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Harrisburg.
“If the data I have is correct, 478 out of the 851 school districts will qualify for the two-year extension,” Windhorst said.
The bill passed the Senate 52-1 (Plummer) and cleared the House 85-24 (Cabello, Caulkins, Davidsmeyer, Jed Davis, Fritts, Grant, Haas, Halbrook, Hauter, Jacobs, Keicher, McLaughlin, Miller, Niemerg, Ozinga, Severin, Spain, Swanson, Tipsword, Weaver, Weber and Windhorst).
* The Question: Your thoughts on the full-day kindergarten law?
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NYMag interviews Pritzker
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gabriel Debenedetti at New York Magazine…
One afternoon in late July, J. B. Pritzker reclined in a conference room high above Chicago and considered the curious case of Ron DeSantis. Pritzker, the 58-year-old governor of Illinois, was in light-blue shirtsleeves and a neatly knotted bright-pink tie — “My Barbie tie,” he quipped to business leaders earlier, revealing he’d watched the movie with his wife and daughter. He was slightly bewildered by the Florida governor’s misfortunes in the GOP presidential primary, which had recently led DeSantis to lay off a huge chunk of his staff amid cratering poll numbers. “I had never really paid a lot of attention to his manner and his personality so much, only to his policies and his hype and the extremist positions,” Pritzker told me, speaking carefully as he settled into pundit mode. “But the point is that is not what’s killing him.”
Pritzker, who, with his dark hair and broad face, looks a little like Oliver Platt playing an ’80s businessman, started to speed up, as if the topic were more exciting than he wanted to let on. “You get the sense of somebody who doesn’t actually care about people. He’s just got a shtick that he puts on for the purposes of a campaign,” he said. Pritzker, who has spent plenty of time with presidential candidates and thought plenty about what it takes to run for president, concluded, “You have to believe what you believe to your core in order to make it through a process like that.” And, he said of DeSantis, “it appears to me that he doesn’t actually have a core.”
This take was worth considering not because of Pritzker’s own flirtations with a campaign last year but because the most wired-in Democrats from Washington, D.C., to Chicago to Los Angeles expect him to be a paramount figure in the 2024 election. This is in part due to his work in Illinois legalizing marijuana and raising the minimum wage and banning assault weapons, all while balancing the state’s budget and plowing resources into infrastructure projects. But it is perhaps more because of his willingness to use his enormous fortune. A Hyatt Hotels heir worth over $3 billion and the country’s richest officeholder, he’s spent hundreds of millions on Democratic candidates and causes (including his own) in recent elections. His status is thus politically complicated as both crucial ally to Joe Biden and potential successor if things go awry.
This is not lost on the president, who paused in a room full of donors in June to thank Pritzker before unspooling his fund-raising spiel. Pritzker, Biden confided to those in Chicago’s JW Marriott, “did more in 2020 to help me get elected president of the United States than just about anybody in the country. And that’s a fact.” […]
He has in recent months also leaned into trumpeting his own accomplishments in Illinois as a counterpoint to chaos in Republican-run states, especially DeSantis’s Florida and Greg Abbott’s Texas. This has, in part, meant engaging in the culture wars. After DeSantis, whom Pritzker had previously called “just Donald Trump with a mask on,” said he would ban AP African American Studies classes in his state, Pritzker wrote an open letter to the College Board insisting that Illinois wouldn’t stand for the body engaging in a “watering down of history” in his state to appease Florida. Figuring he has the business-world credibility that many other Democrats lack, he has since considered taking an even clearer message to industry leaders around the country: Companies will find moving to red states to be unsustainable as employees flee book bans and abortion restrictions.
I disagree with the “no core” claim. I think DeSantis has a clear core. It’s demonstrated in the bills he’s promoted and signed in Florida and the fights he’s picked.
Your thoughts?
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* Politico has a good roundup of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s one-hour news conference yesterday…
His overarching message: He’s not going to make shoot-from-the-hip decisions that he’ll be criticized for later. “It’s important that we’re intentional,” Johnson said. “Too many decisions in this city have been rushed decisions.”
Here are seven pressing questions posed to him:
— What’s the strategy for the migrant crisis? The city is “still pushing the federal government to lean in a little bit more” to provide support, he said, making a point not to criticize the White House as New York Mayor Eric Adams has. “Transitioning individuals out of police stations is still top of mind. Finding more adequate places for shelter for families is top of mind. Having full wraparound services for families who wish to call the city Chicago their home that is still top of mind,” Johnson said.
He revealed that the city is also talking to suburban communities about stepping in. “We see some real support on the horizon,” he said. […]
— What about that weekend teen takeover? It was a question about the 40 teens arrested over the weekend for trashing a convenience store in what the reporter called a “mob action.” The mayor pushed back, saying it’s “not appropriate” to describe children as “baby Al Capones.”
He added that police have deterred potential teen takeovers, in spite of the weekend action. “Unfortunately, arrests were made. Unfortunately, some damage was caused. And the level of sensitivity and patience that our officers expressed, I’m appreciative of that. That is constitutional. That is a system of care,” Johnson said. “Having patience is truly a virtue.”
There’s more, so click here.
* More coverage…
* Mayor Brandon Johnson defends response to teen gatherings, migrant crisis: ‘My administration is different’: Police made the 40 arrests Sunday evening as large groups of youths refused to disperse after fighting and storming a convenience store near West Roosevelt Road and South Canal Street. The move to begin locking up teens at about 9:20 p.m. reflected a more decisive style from police leaders than in previous gatherings this summer, but Johnson underscored that the cops “attempted to engage with our young people, with community partners, giving as much warning as they possibly could.” “That’s a unique approach. You know, many people expect us to treat people undignified. My administration is different,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, arrests were made. Unfortunately, some damage was caused. And the level of sensitivity and patience that our officers expressed, I’m appreciative of that. That is constitutional. That is a system of care.” Large youth gatherings downtown have vexed Chicago police and other city leaders for the last decade, often springing up via social media flyers during warm summer months and sometimes turning violent. The mayor, who despite pushback has continued to vow that he will never demonize youth, elaborated Wednesday that his administration has “intercepted” other attempts at large gatherings that “could have been even more severe,” while also taking umbrage with the teens being described as a “mob.” “That’s not appropriate. We’re not talking about mob actions,” Johnson said. “We have to be careful when we use language to describe certain behavior. There’s a history in this city, and, I mean, to refer to children as like baby Al Capones is not appropriate.”
* Mayor praises Chicago cops for ‘great deal of restraint’ after teen takeover in South Loop: ‘That is a system of care’: A former Chicago Public Schools teacher, Johnson said there are always going to be students who “want to find spaces where they can cut up.” It’s his job to build “systems to prevent that from happening. “If you’re between the ages of 16 and 21, there aren’t a lot of places where you can go and hang out. There just isn’t. You’re too old for Chuck E. Cheese … and then you can’t go to a club,” the mayor said. “And so, the preventative dynamic is being far more strategic about finding out when these [events] are taking place and then, showing up with not just law enforcement but the full force of government, other agencies as well as our community partners to help deter and re-direct young people. That’s gonna be a constant effort as we build out spaces where young people can actually come and hang out in their neighborhoods or places outside their neighborhoods that are safe.”
* Johnson Denies Migrants Were Moved From Police Station Due to Lollapalooza: Johnson shared a statement on social media later that evening saying those were items “that individuals and families chose to leave behind, or could not take into shelter, such as mattresses and other bulky items.” “Everyone who transitioned understood shelter space is limited, and was able to take essential items,” Johnson said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that more than 100 people were moved from the 1st District station to the Broadway Armory. According to Johnson, organizers who assisted those migrants in their move said the families were “all thrilled” that the city was providing “far more stability.”
* Migrants Weren’t Moved Out Of Downtown Police Station Because Of Lollapalooza, Mayor Says: Johnson made the statement at a press conference Wednesday after video showed mattresses and other items being thrown out at the Central (1st) District police station, 1718 S. State St. Hundreds of migrants who had been sheltering there were relocated to a new Edgewater emergency shelter, just days before the music fest in Grant Park is set to welcome tens of thousands of fans. Johnson said the video, which was deleted and later tweeted back out, gave an “inaccurate depiction of what happened.” It was the city’s plan to move migrants to the Broadway Armory shelter all along, he said. The Armory opened as a city shelter Tuesday, the day the migrants were moved. “As a city, do we want people living in police stations? Is that acceptable?” Johnson asked. … “What I’m committed to doing is honoring the law of … sanctuary city and building systems of care that provide a pathway with dignity for individuals who are seeking refuge and hope here in the city of Chicago,” Johnson said. “As we build that structure, I’ll be better prepared and positioned to have an assessment on how we move forward beyond that point.”
* Slow down, Chicago Bears? Johnson won’t be rushed into deal to keep team in the city: ‘We’ll get there’: “Something that I’ve learned in my work to get to this point is listening to people, hearing their values. That’s the best position to be in in order to come to a conclusion that works for everyone,” he said. “We’ll get there. I believe it’s inevitable that we ultimately will have conversations that will be far more guided and specific. But, in the meantime, it’s just an understanding that the history of the Chicago Bears and what the people of Chicago want to see — those interests have to align. And so, the early parts of our conversations have certainly put us into position to have another one.” … “This city has become accustomed to these types of decisions being made in a moment’s notice. I’m a different mayor, you all. I am. I’m gonna take my time because getting this right is important,” Johnson said. “What I don’t want is that you all push me to rush a decision to then come back to tag me for making a decision too soon that people don’t ultimately like. At the very least, you know that whatever decision that I made that I didn’t take it lightly. I believe the Bears understand that and appreciate that.”
* Mayor Johnson talks Chicago’s top cop search, migrant relocation: WBEZ is reporting that in 1994, Fred Waller was accused of domestic violence by his then-wife, who ultimately stopped cooperating with an investigation of the incident before CPD concluded the complaint was not sustained. The mayor shrugged off the report. “Fred Waller being willing to come out of retirement to serve in this capacity is a tremendous sacrifice,” he said. “As far as any dynamics that have occurred in the past, as I understand it, that investigation of that initial investigation has been settled and solved.”
* Mayor Brandon Johnson addresses teen takeovers, migrant crisis, other issues affecting Chicagoans: Johnson is also coming under fire for skipping Tuesday night’s National Night Out event, which are meant to foster police and community partnerships. Johnson instead took his boys to a Cubs game. The Fraternal Order of Police called this a slap in the face, especially with one event honoring murdered Chicago police officer, Aréanah Preston. “He is who we thought he was, self centered,” Chicago FOP Lodge 7 President John Catanzara said. “I mean, how tone deaf can you be? He should have been to several National Night Out events. That’s your job. That’s what you signed up for. Shame on him.” Johnson responded to the criticism. “The fact that we believe in this city that there’s only one day that is set aside to connect with people, that is a very short-sighted view of the entire frame of what this city is ultimately,” Johnson said.
* Mayor Johnson addresses migrant crisis, teen takeovers, his own availability at news conference: Johnson also called for patience from the news media with regard to his administration. “I do appreciate you all being patient with my administration. I do,” the mayor said. “And I know you all want to interact more with me – and we’ll figure that out – but a brother’s working, every day.”
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HFS responds
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Background is here if you need it. From Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services spokesperson Jamie Munks…
Rich,
Wanted to share some additional information about the efforts taking place to support Illinois Medicaid customers whose redeterminations are coming due, as well as make you aware of some national data that federal CMS released last week:
For nearly a year prior to the announcement of the end of the federal public health emergency, HFS was conducting outreach to customers about ensuring their addresses are up-to-date with the Illinois Medicaid program so their redetermination materials are mailed to the correct location when their renewal date is approaching and engaging and preparing with partners: the Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), health care providers, community organizations, etc. The state of Illinois has been working closely with federal partners and has taken advantage of significant federal flexibilities that have been offered to states to minimize coverage loss.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released Medicaid renewal data last week, including a national breakdown of coverage renewed, coverage terminated and renewals pending. Per the federal data: 2,216,287 Medicaid beneficiaries were due for renewal in the reporting month. Of those:
• 1,009,164 beneficiaries – coverage renewed (45.5%)
• 714,894 beneficiaries – coverage terminated (32.2%)
• 492,229 beneficiaries – renewal pending (22.2%)
You can find more information here.
-Earlier this year, the state launched a multi-platform outreach campaign, Ready to Renew, that includes paid advertisements, print, digital and broadcast communication, and grassroots outreach to help Medicaid customers ensure they are ready for required upcoming coverage renewals. The primary goal of the Department’s Ready to Renew campaign is to help Medicaid customers who remain eligible ensure their coverage continues without disruption. HFS has created a Ready to Renew Toolkit in multiple languages so that anybody who interacts with Medicaid customers can easily and regularly use the key messages and materials provided to help reach Medicaid customers. CPS has also had a campaign running since early May and is still running on CTA, Community Billboards, Interstate Billboards, leaflets in backpacks, text messaging and emails.
-Prior to that, in anticipation of redeterminations resuming, HFS conducted an outreach campaign in partnership with hundreds of local organizations to reach Medicaid customers about the importance of ensuring their contact information on file with the Illinois Medicaid program is current, so that their redetermination materials reach them in the correct location.
-HFS and the MCOs are conducting targeted outreach to customers whose renewals are coming due, via mail, email and text messaging. In partnership with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, HFS has implemented a new flexibility to minimize the loss of medical coverage for customers during the redetermination process. The new flexibility permits the delay of procedural terminations for one month for customers who did not return their redetermination by their due date. During the one-month grace period, additional outreach is being conducted to encourage customers to return their Medicaid redetermination. HFS has also re-initiated the 643RNW Courtesy Renewal Form – Follow Up Letter to remind customers to submit their redetermination. Some details of the letter are as follows:
• Will be generated by the 20th of each month when a customer’s redetermination has not been received by their due date.
• Will remind customers to return their completed Form B redetermination.
• Will remind customers of the ways in which they can renew their medical coverage.
• Will provide the customer an opportunity to indicate a reason, if they do not wish to continue receiving medical coverage.
-The Department has provided a training series that reached well over 1,000 partner agency staff who connect with Medicaid customers on a daily basis. HFS has also been working closely with the Illinois Hospital Association to ensure information and training is disseminated through those channels.
-The best thing all customers can do to ensure they are ready to renew their coverage is:
1. Visit abe.illinois.gov and click Manage My Case to set up their online account.
2. Verify that their current address is on file to ensure that their redetermination materials will reach them. This is critical because they may need to provide more information to determine whether they remain eligible for continued coverage, which they will need to do before their due date.
3. Look up their due date so they know when to expect their redetermination materials. Customers can also now check their renewal due date using the Automated Voice Response System. Customers must know their Recipient Identification Number, or RIN, their nine-digit medical card number. The client line is 855-828-4995, and is available in English and Spanish, 24 hours a day. Customers can find their nine-digit RIN on their medical card from HFS, and customers enrolled in a managed care plan can also find their RIN on their MCO ID card. Customers on the client line can also transfer to the Health Benefits Hotline during business hours to obtain their RIN.
Discuss.
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Open thread
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s goin’ on in your part of Illinois?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* The Pantagraph | Illinois ‘most promising state’ for clean energy investments, Pritzker says in Decatur stop: Pritzker emphasized his administration’s dedication to clean energy at the groundbreaking of a new Electric Vehicle Innovation Hub at TCCI Manufacturing. The $45 million project will allow both research for manufacturers and training programs targeting the next generation of EV workers.
* Tribune | More than 47,000 Illinois residents lose Medicaid as state begins asking recipients to prove eligibility: More Illinois residents are expected to lose coverage in coming months. The people who lost it this month were only among the first group asked to prove they still qualified for Medicaid. The state plans to send letters to new groups of Medicaid recipients each month, asking them to prove their eligibility.
* WCBU | State watchdog investigating employees accused of bilking federal pandemic aid program: Neil Olson, general counsel at the Illinois Office of the Executive Inspector General, confirmed that “OEIG has been investigating allegations of Paycheck Protection Program fraud by state employees under our jurisdiction.” The review, he said, is “systematic,” involving multiple state agencies and the other governing bodies under OEIG’s jurisdiction, which include state universities, boards and commissions, and regional transit boards.
* Illinois Times | Statehouse to decide how to regulate hemp: Growers of hemp have learned how to derive a multitude of marketable compounds from it. The two most commercially important ones are cannabidiol, or CBD, and delta-8 THC. HB 4101 would require that such hemp derivatives be tested for impurities and restricted to buyers who are at least 21 years old. Representatives of the cannabis industry in Illinois oppose the measure, preferring that the sale of all hemp derivatives be banned until their safety has been proven.
* Center Square | Pritzker expected to veto bill giving Ameren rights to build transmission lines: “Competition is important and we want to keep costs down for our customers across the state, the customers of our utilities, and having a competitive environment helps do that,” Pritzker said. “I’m still considering what I will do with the bill but I think you understand at least where my head is at.”
* Crain’s | Pritzker, lawmakers turn up heat on Biden to OK $1.1B Union Station rehab: Officials led by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and Mayor Brandon Johnson are scheduled to appear at a joint press conference later today near the historic but aging facility. They are to say that the project badly needs federal funds and has big local backing, with a decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation expected by the end of the year.
* WBEZ | Federal report details a patient’s death at understaffed Loretto Hospital as workers strike: WBEZ obtained an inspection report about the death from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which funds hospitals and investigates patient safety issues. Loretto Hospital officials acknowledged “staffing challenges” in the report. The waiting area and the triage room within the waiting area, where the patient was found in a bathroom, were both covered by one nurse, the report said.
* NBC Chicago | Pritzker signs new law establishing full-day kindergarten in Illinois: The bill establishes a task force that will conduct a statewide audit to plan out the implementation of full-day kindergarten programs. That group’s work will conclude with a full report due no later than Jan. 2025, according to the text of the bill.
* WSIU | The Illinois Attorney General sues the owner of a southern Illinois coal mine: The suit alleges Williamson Energy has violated permit limits dozens of times, failed to report bypasses, caused numerous violations of water quality standards, and failed to comply with good mining practices at the Pond Creek Mine near Johnston City.
* AP | A Latino player says his Northwestern teammates hazed him by shaving ‘Cinco de Mayo’ onto his head: Diaz said he was the only Latino offensive lineman at a time when the athletic department’s culture allowed racism and sexual abuse to thrive and caused psychological and emotional damage to athletes of color.
* Patch | Wilmette Trustees To Weigh In On Ryan Field Redesign With Resolution: The plan calls for a reduction from the stadium’s current capacity of 47,000 to 35,000 and modifications to Evanston’s zoning code to allow for the commercial use of the site, with up to 10 full-capacity concerts and unlimited events with fewer than 10,000 attendees.
* Block Club | More Pilsen Residents Are Filing — And Winning — Property Tax Assessment Appeals, Officials Say: The Cook County Board of Review, the tax appeals board, said there was a 25 percent increase in individual filings for assessment appeals for the 2022 tax year compared to the last assessment cycle in 2018 — from 9,486 filings to 11,907. This led to a 52 percent increase in appeals granted to Pilsen homeowners in that time period, Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas said.
* Tribune | Mayor Brandon Johnson defends response to teen gatherings, migrant crisis: ‘My administration is different’: In a sprawling, one-hour news conference, Johnson stressed that the Chicago police order to arrest dozens during a large teen gathering last weekend in the South Loop was constitutional and compassionate. It was his first such session with reporters in two weeks, and the new mayor strove to walk a fine line between his campaign ideals of radical change and the reality of assuming the office of chief executive.
* Tribune | Still relegated to the weeds, Chicago cannabis stores gear up for big off-site Lollapalooza sales: “It’s definitely our biggest weekend of the year at any of our Illinois stores for the amount of consumers that we saw, and the new consumers that we got to introduce to recreational cannabis,” said Jason Erkes, a spokesman for Chicago-based Cresco Labs, which owns the Sunnyside dispensary closest to Grant Park.
* Fox 2 | Illinois village keeps flooding and no one knows why: Mayor of Marissa Chad Easton and some of the residents say the area started flooding about five years ago during heavy rain events. […] Mayor Easton said all the village’s water flows are clear and there are no obstructions. “It is a mystery,” Easton said. “This is one of the biggest things that I’d ever have to do in my life is try to figure out a solution to a problem where there isn’t a phone I can pick up and say, ‘Hey, give me the solution.’”
* Salon | Leprosy is probably endemic to central Florida, CDC reports, posing yet another public health threat: Like the landscaper’s case, about one-third of leprosy reports between 2015 and 2020 are thought to have been contracted within the country. “The absence of traditional risk factors in many recent cases of leprosy in Florida, coupled with the high proportion of residents, like our patient, who spend a great deal of time outdoors, supports the investigation into environmental reservoirs as a potential source of transmission,” the report stated.
* Sun-Times | Slow down, Chicago Bears? Johnson won’t be rushed into deal to keep team in the city: ‘We’ll get there’: Mayor Johnson has not yet offered an alternative stadium site to the Bears if the team is determined to leave Soldier Field. He says he’s using this time for relationship building.
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Live coverage
Thursday, Aug 3, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* ScribbleLive is down. Twitt- I mean X has stopped allowing people to embed list feeds on websites. So, click here or here to follow breaking news.
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* Molly Parker…
Dozens of state employees across multiple agencies are under investigation by a state watchdog for claims they fraudulently obtained payments from a federal pandemic-era loan program, Capitol News Illinois has learned.
Neil Olson, general counsel at the Illinois Office of the Executive Inspector General, confirmed that “OEIG has been investigating allegations of Paycheck Protection Program fraud by state employees under our jurisdiction.” The review, he said, is “systematic,” involving multiple state agencies and the other governing bodies under OEIG’s jurisdiction, which include state universities, boards and commissions, and regional transit boards. […]
Fraud in the PPP program has been widespread across the United States. In a June report, the inspector general for the SBA estimated that the agency paid out more than $200 billion in “potentially fraudulent” aid during the pandemic – about 17 percent of the $1.2 trillion that was dispersed through the PPP and other similar programs. […]
The scandal has ensnared numerous employees who work at the Illinois Department of Human Services, including at state-run facilities for people with disabilities that are facing staffing shortages. In late June, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed that at least 30 IDHS employees were in various stages of the disciplinary process for inappropriately taking PPP loans. At the time, eight IDHS employees had been fired, six had resigned and 16 were pending disciplinary action. […]
The fraud was not limited to IDHS. Collectively, state employees may have obtained millions of dollars in fraudulent payments. A spokesperson for Gov. JB Pritzker declined to provide specifics about how many employees have faced disciplinary action for PPP fraud, saying that the governor’s office does not comment on ongoing investigations. While some employees have already received notices of their termination, they have a right to appeal that decision.
Well, that’s one way to get rid of the dead weight.
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The lost art of outreach (continued)
Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
More than 47,000 Illinois residents lost Medicaid health insurance coverage this month — joining millions of people across the country losing Medicaid as states ask recipients to prove they’re still eligible for the program, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started. […]
The federal government has estimated that about 700,000 people in Illinois may lose Medicaid coverage by the time the process is complete. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is more optimistic, estimating that about 384,000 Illinois residents may lose coverage. […]
Of the Illinois residents who lost coverage this month, 13,375 individuals were no longer eligible. Another 34,250 individuals lost Medicaid because they didn’t respond to requests to prove their eligibility or because they didn’t provide the state with all the required information, Munks said.
Another 139,538 people were found to still qualify for Medicaid, and will continue to have Medicaid coverage. The state is still determining whether an additional 13,830 people should stay on Medicaid.
If the state’s goal is to prevent half of the federal government’s projected losses by reaching out to current Medicaid recipients and making sure they fill out the paperwork and file it on time, then the state is now way behind. Better outreach is obviously needed.
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Afternoon roundup
Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed HB2396, requiring each school board to establish a kindergarten program with full day attendance, beginning with the 2027-2028 school year. Under this bill, every district must also establish a half-day program that is developmentally appropriate and provides opportunities for play-based learning. […]
According to the National Education Association, children in full-day classes show greater reading and mathematics achievements than those in half day classes. Research also indicates that children’s early reading skills are enhanced with the additional instruction time provided by full day kindergarten programs. Alongside academic gains, full day kindergarten offers several social and emotional benefits to students.
Districts that currently do not offer a full-day program can apply for a waiver to extend the implementation date up to two years past the 2027-2028 school years if they meet certain criteria.
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker, TCCI, Richland Community College, and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today joined local leaders and partners to break ground on TCCI’s new electric vehicle (EV) Innovation Hub in Decatur. A global leader in electric compressors for commercial, heavy-duty, and automotive specialty markets, TCCI’s EV Innovation Hub is a critical part of Illinois’ growing EV ecosystem. […]
Bolstered by the State of Illinois’ Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois) incentive package which supports the manufacturing facility expansion, $21.3 million in capital grants were also appropriated to the City of Decatur and Richland Community College to build the first-of-its kind Climatic Center for Innovation and Research, as well as the EV + Energy Workforce Training Academy.
“This three-tiered project represents a historic investment in American manufacturing and a major step toward establishing a full EV supply chain in the US, from supplies to talent,” said TCCI President Richard Demirjian. “It’s fitting that Decatur, on the same site where we have produced compressors since 1984, will now play a critical role in driving the global transportation sector toward an exciting future of electrification.”
Headquartered in Decatur, TCCI’s state-of-the-art electric compressor line will produce the largest range of capacity and voltage of any compressor manufacturer in the EV automotive market. By manufacturing electric compressors locally, TCCI not only supports the growth of electrification but will also create high-wage, skilled jobs that fuel economic development in the local community.
Producing essential EV components at TCCI’s Decatur location will help solidify the state’s position as a manufacturing leader and expand the EV Innovation Cluster in central Illinois. Production is slated to begin by the third quarter of 2024, making it one of the first such production facilities in the U.S.
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker today signed House Bill 0780 to establish and administer a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Pilot Program in Will County beginning January 1, 2024, through January 1, 2027. The Illinois Department on Aging worked in close coordination with Leader Natalie Manley to establish this legislation that amends the Illinois Act on Aging. It will require an intake coordinator for Will County to be responsible for connecting grandparents raising grandchildren to relevant resources and services provided by state agencies.
* The CTU-aligned left-wing has been claiming for years that Chicago and its school system are fiscally “broke on purpose” and that there is more than enough money to go around. Mayor Johnson is obviously still a believer, but reality is setting in…
Brandon Johnson strode into a conference room this month at Malcolm X College, where scores of mostly West Siders had gathered to hear how Chicago’s newly minted mayor will align his unapologetic progressivism with the dollars-and-cents realities of the city’s $16.4 billion budget.
The crowd of at least 100 at the community budget roundtable listened raptly as the mayor dared them to imagine: “How about a budget that creates more than enough for revenue?” It was a nod to his stirring orations during the campaign where he often promised his dinner table will be “big enough” for all Chicagoans.
But during another roundtable this past week, Johnson’s budget director, Annette Guzman, spoke in more cautious terms.
“Unfortunately, it’s sort of like a zero-sum game,” Guzman said. “OK, there’s only so much resources that we have. So we have to make sure that we’re allocating it amongst many, many competing interests.”
* Center Square headline…
Pritzker: No plan to deploy National Guard in Chicago
Lede…
As Gov. J.B. Pritzker weighs whether to use the National Guard in Chicago to help officers deal with crime, some city officials are speaking out against the possibility.
Scroll down…
Pritzker said he doesn’t plan to use the National Guard to combat crime.
“National Guardsman and women are trained to kill people on a battle field. That is what they are trained to do. They are not police. They don’t know how to do crowd control,” Pritzker said.
What the heck was that all about?
* Isabel’s roundup…
* ABC Chicago | Pritzker signs new law establishing full-day kindergarten in Illinois: Under provisions of the bill, full-day kindergarten will need to be offered by school districts by the 2027-28 school year, though some schools could qualify for an extension of that date.
* WTTW | New Measure Aims to Protect Illinois Temp Workers, Move Them Into Permanent Jobs: Those temps often don’t know where they’ll be working from one day to the next, or even if they’ll be working. And it’s a group of workers that advocates say are more vulnerable to harassment and abuse — including so-called perma-temping, where workers are held back from getting hired full-time.
* WBEZ | New pick for top Chicago Park District lawyer accused in a civil rights lawsuit in Evanston: A lawyer who worked under top Evanston attorney Nicholas Cummings alleges she endured “racist and misogynistic harassment” and a “hostile work environment” at the northern suburb, court records show. An attorney for Cummings denied the accusations, and city officials say he was cleared in an internal investigation by outside counsel.
* WTTW | Illinois Has Recorded More Tornadoes Than Any Other State This Year: Colby Hunt, president of the McDonough County Farm Bureau, said he saw about $400,000 in damage from intense winds in June. Farm facilities like grain bins and sheds were “just blown away.” His corn crops were damaged.
* Crain’s | How St. Bernard flipped its safety grade from an ‘F’ to an ‘A’: The facility still struggles with industrywide problems of underfunding and low staffing. Nevertheless, St. Bernard’s commitment to better patient care shows in the hospital’s hallways dotted with bulletin boards detailing its quality improvement achievements and goals.
* WTTW | Chicago Street Outreach Workers Use Own Experiences to Reach Others in Their Neighborhoods: Vaughn Bryant, executive director of Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, says there are around 260 street outreach workers across the city — many of them from violent backgrounds themselves. “That’s what makes them credible, gives them the license to operate,” Bryant said. “They know the people, they have the relationships. They’ve lived that life but they’ve also turned their lives around to a positive direction.”
* Daily Herald | Elk Grove Village could go a year without a new police chief: That’s to allow enough time for Rich Mikel to coach and mentor the police department’s command staff who eventually might be considered for the top cop job, Johnson said.
* Daily Herald | ‘It’s putrid’: Residents air grievances about odors from local food plants: Residents in Mount Prospect, Des Plaines and St. Charles are up in arms about odors wafting from nearby food producers. And some worry that local governments, eager to attract industry, are turning up their noses at concerns.
* Crain’s | What’s behind the rise of downtown’s super-luxury apartment market: The apartment-building boom of the past several years has brought with it a miniature boom tucked inside. Several of the buildings, designed for the luxury market, have within them an even higher class of super-expensive penthouses, the kind of premier space that used to be available only for purchase in condo towers.
* WGLT | Illinois State University hires Brad Franke as top Springfield lobbyist: Brad Franke was hired Tuesday as ISU’s director of public affairs and policy, part of the President’s Office. He succeeds Jonathan Lackland, who left his role as ISU’s director of governmental relations in December, a few months before President Terri Goss Kinzy’s resignation. Aondover Tarhule is now interim president.
* WBEZ | Meet the couple taking on the opioid epidemic, one music festival at a time: They hand out the nasal spray, which can cost more than $100 without insurance, on lanyards so partygoers can quickly administer it in crowded spaces. They instruct attendees to do the following: Tilt a person’s head back, insert the nozzle into a nostril and press the plunger.
* SJ-R | Sensory friendly station, sunflower hours to be featured at the Illinois State Fair: “This year, we are taking steps to help those who feel overwhelmed by giving them a place to get support and make their fair a positive experience,” said Rebecca Clark, state fair manager. “The fair is a celebration of our state so I think if we can be accommodating to all, that’s what we should strive to be.”
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Funny how this works
Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Crain’s…
In a metaphor of sorts for the state of the party — and, for that matter, the nation — Illinois Republicans are all over the map in their reaction to the indictment of former President Donald Trump for allegedly conspiring to nullify the results of the 2020 presidential election and claim a second term in the White House.
Leading conservatives in the Illinois GOP, mostly downstate, are blasting the indictment on four felony counts as a rigged political action aimed at hurting Trump’s chances in 2024. More moderate party figures, mostly in the Chicago area, are ripping Trump and his allies for abetting an effort to overturn American democracy. Solid swaths of other Republicans are keeping mum, issuing no tweets or press statements.
All the “moderate party figures” quoted in the piece are out of power, like former US Reps. Joe Walsh and Adam Kinzinger.
* As for those still in positions of power…
Among those saying nothing at all so far are the state Republican Party, Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy and Cook County Republican Party Chair Sean Morrison.
* The Illinois Republican Party isn’t completely silent about corruption, though. The party issued a press release today about a Chicago alderperson who resigned four years ago…
Welcome to another edition of Continuing Corruption, where we dig deep into the actions of politicians embroiled in controversies that erode public confidence. Today, we shift our focus to Illinois Democrat Willie Cochran, a former alderman whose troubling actions have left a stain on the state’s political landscape.
Before his corruption came to light, Willie Cochran was a prominent figure in Chicago politics and served as the alderman of the 20th Ward in Chicago, Illinois. The 20th Ward, in particular, has had a dismal track record, with Cochran becoming the third alderman in the last four to be indicted while in office.
So, what exactly did he do?
Cochran was charged in December 2016 with one count of felony wire fraud. The case revealed his involvement in stealing a staggering $14,000 from a charity he had created to support vulnerable children and seniors in his South Side ward. Instead of fulfilling the noble purpose of the charity, Cochran shamelessly misused the funds for personal gain, indulging in lavish dinners, splurging on Mercedes-Benz accessories, funding his daughter’s college education, and feeding a dangerous gambling habit.
Let me repeat that: he stole from a charity for children and elderly to fund a gambling habit.
Cochran resigned from his position as alderman of the 20th Ward in Chicago on March 1, 2019. His resignation came after he was re-elected to his position in February 2019 while facing the pending charges of wire fraud.
In June 2019, Cochran was sentenced to one year in prison on one count of felony wire fraud.
The Illinois Democratic Party’s persistent series of corruption scandals has cast a dark shadow on the state’s political landscape. Time and again, prominent figures within the party have faced allegations of unethical conduct, abuse of power, and misuse of public funds. From former aldermen and city officials to high-ranking state politicians, the list of individuals embroiled in controversies seems unending. These scandals not only erode public trust in the party but also undermine faith in the state’s governance. It’s a troubling pattern that demands a thorough examination of the party’s internal mechanisms and a renewed commitment to transparency, accountability, and ethical leadership.
But of course, we’ll see you back next week when we discuss yet another member of the Illinois Democrat Party who abused their power as an elected official at the expense of the public they were supposed to serve.
…Adding… Sean Morrison issued a statement on crime today…
At some point Cook County’s elected officials should acknowledge that the enacted prosecutorial, bail and judicial sentencing “reform” policies are failing our community. More precisely, they are failing the innocent hard-working families in Cook County and beyond.
* Meanwhile, Darren Bailey said this in March of last year…
“Today’s indictment of the former Speaker and leader of the @IllinoisDems is no surprise. As Governor, I’ll root out corruption and ensure those who engage in illegal activity are prosecuted and pay a steep price for violating public trust. It’s time to reform Springfield. #twill,” Bailey posted on Twitter
Contrast that with yesterday…
* Bailey’s primary opponent Mike Bost issued a press release cheering on the feds last year, then tweeted this yesterday…
OK, I’ve broken the seal. Take some deep breaths before commenting, please.
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* Keep in mind when reading this Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability report for July that federal ARPA funds were used for one-time things, like debt reduction, etc. So, the overall “decline” isn’t really doing anything to ongoing state spending programs. Instead, pay most attention to recurring base revenues…
Base revenues into the State’s General Funds performed quite well to start off FY 2024 with year- over-year growth of $396 million. However, when last July’s $584 million deposit of ARPA reimbursements are included in the calculation, the overall change is a decline of $188 million to start the fiscal year. July had the same number of receipting days as the same month the prior fiscal year. The increase in base receipts was spurred by notable improvement from income tax receipts. Personal Income Taxes rose $184 million in July, a net increase of $153 million when removing distributions to the Refund Fund and the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). Similarly, Corporate Income Taxes rose a solid $117 million, or $95 million on a net basis.
As provided by P.A. 103-0008, the annual percentage of personal income tax revenues that are to go to the Income Tax Refund Fund was lowered from 9.25% in FY 2023 to 9.15% in FY 2024. The percentage of corporate income tax revenues that are to go to the Income Tax Refund Fund was also reduced, from 14.5% to 14.0%. Reduced refund fund percentages mean that more available funds could go into the State’s General Funds. However, the gain in net receipts due to these percentage changes will be more than offset by an increase in the portion distributed to the LGDF. Public Act 103-0008 also provided that 6.47% (instead of 6.16%) of personal income tax revenues (net of refunds) shall go to the LGDF in FY 2024. The amount of net corporate receipts to the LGDF did not change and remains at 6.85%.
The growth in base revenues was also aided by a significant rise in Federal Sources base receipts. In July these particular receipts were $253 million higher than the year prior. However, if the $584 million in non-base federal dollars receipted in July 2022 from the ARPA Reimbursement for Essential Government Services are included into the equation, Federal Sources were actually down $331 million for the month. No additional ARPA reimbursements are anticipated in FY 2024, which will be a comparable disadvantage throughout the year when comparing FY 2024 with FY 2023 year- to-date totals.
Sales Taxes held flat in July on a gross basis. On a net basis, when accounting for distributions to the Road Fund and other transportation funds, a modest decline of $11 million occurred due the increase in Road Fund Transfers under current law. In regard to all Other State Sources, revenues combined to eke out a $2 million gain. A $20 million increase in Interest on State Funds & Investments, a $7 million rise in Corporate Franchise Taxes, and a slight $1 million increase in Public Utility Taxes helped offset declines in General Funds receipt distributions from Insurance Taxes [-$16 million]; Inheritance Taxes [-$6 million]; and the Cigarette Tax [-$4 million].
The performance of Transfers In was mixed. Lottery Transfers were $20 million higher, Gaming Transfers from Illinois’ casinos were up $7 million, and Cannabis Transfers rose $1 million. These gains, however, could not overcome the $124 million decline in Other Transfers, resulting in an overall Transfers In decline of $96 million. The notable decline in Other Transfers is primarily due to a Capital Projects Fund July 2022 transfer of $140 million that did not repeat in July of this year.
* To recap, this is a year-over-year July-only growth of $396 million, including net gains of $153 million in personal income taxes (10.9 percent increase) and $95 million in corporate income (57.9 percent increase).
Also setting aside one-time ARPA money for one-time spending, the state saw a $253 million base increase in federal funding, which is a 414.8 percent increase.
The sales tax net decline was due to the yearslong task of eventually transferring all sales taxes on motor fuels to the Road Fund.
Excluding ARPA, total net General Funds sources grew from $3.01 billion in July of 2022 to $3.406 billion in July of 2023. That’s a 13.2 percent increase.
* With inflation, $3.01 billion in July of 2022 is equal to $3.1 billion in June of 2023. July numbers aren’t yet available, but inflation has significantly cooled of late. So, factoring inflation, that’s still $306 million in growth and represents a 9.87 percent increase. It’ll be slightly smaller when July numbers arrive.
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Delivery Helps Chicago Restaurants Grow On Uber Eats
Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
At Uber Eats, local restaurants are the backbone of our communities and delivery continues to help small business owners reach new customers and increase sales.
We recently published the results of the 2022 US Merchant Impact Report—which come directly from a survey of merchant partners. Read More.
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Live coverage
Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* ScribbleLive is down and XTwitter, in another super-genius move, has stopped allowing people to embed their list feeds on websites. So, click here and/or here to follow breaking news.
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* October of 2019…
The Forest County Potawatomi tribe of Wisconsin is suing the city of Waukegan, Illinois, for rejecting its proposal to build a casino on the site of a ghost shopping mall in the city. […]
Last week, the city council rubber-stamped bids from the tribe’s three competitors — Full House Resorts, North Point Casino, and Rivers Casino Waukegan – sending them to the Illinois Gaming Board, which will make the final decision. But the Potawatomi project didn’t make the cut. […]
The report in question, complied by Johnson Consultants, asserted the tribe was offering $5.6 million to buy the plot of land on which the casino would be built, the lowest of the four bids.
But the tribe argues it didn’t quote any specific price for the land in its application at all, and neither was it required to. It merely stated it would pay within 15 percent of the plot’s market value.
The tribe later submitted supplementary materials emphasizing it was prepared to pay $12 million for the plot, which was not included in the Johnson Consultants report.
According to the lawsuit, the report rated the Potawatomi as first or second in every other category except for the purchase price, but ultimately ranked the entire proposal last – a decision the tribe describes as “inexplicable.”
* November of 2021…
The owners of the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino claim that former [Waukegan] Mayor Sam Cunningham manipulated the bidding for a future Waukegan casino to favor the gambling company of former state Sen. Michael Bond. […]
The Potawatomi group pointed to the significant financial contributions that Bond, CEO of Tap Room Gaming, had provided to councilmembers who voted in line with Cunningham’s request.
In the final weeks of the 2017 mayoral campaign, Bond directed more than $50,000 to Cunningham. Then, ahead of the 2019 City Council election, Bond and his network of companies and committees gave $250,000 to candidates he backed, essentially fully bankrolling four candidates who won seats.
According to the tribal casino entity, city officials favoring Bond’s North Point proposal also selected Neil Bluhm’s Rush Street Gaming/Rivers Casino for consideration by the state gambling board as a result of Rivers’ teaming up with Waukegan Gaming LLC, the entity that had been selected by the city in an unsuccessful 2004 effort to bring a casino to town and had filed suit seeking the new license.
“Based on Bond’s campaign largesse and personal connection to Cunningham, North Point indeed had the inside track. But given public scrutiny of the Bond connection, the City also favored Full House as a relatively weak competitor that could ‘quash’ the (accurate) perception of bias toward North Point,” Potawatomi attorneys alleged. “The selection of Rivers does nothing to negate this inference, because Rivers punched its own ticket in the form of damaging information it unearthed in the Waukegan Gaming litigation. Hence Cunningham’s directive to send North Point, Full House and Rivers, but not Potawatomi, to the Illinois Gaming Board.”
Except, the Illinois Gaming Board wound up choosing Full House, which was granted a temporary operating license earlier this year and a sports betting license in June.
* But now…
The cards have already been dealt in the Waukegan casino game, but a state appellate court has issued a ruling that could bring back to the table a spurned bidder that has long complained of a “rigged” contest for the coveted gambling license.
That means the north suburban casino selection process could end up being reshuffled, even though Las Vegas-based Full House Resorts has been open for betting business at a temporary gambling mecca in the city for almost six months.
Illinois’ First District Appellate Court sided Friday with the Forest County Potawatomi Community in their long-running court battle with Waukegan, where the Native American tribe has contended officials didn’t give them a fair shake in 2019 while considering casino operators that were then forwarded for a final selection by state gambling regulators. […]
“Potawatomi Casino pursued a significant business opportunity to fairly compete for a casino license, and where that opportunity was denied due to the city’s alleged failure to perform the process lawfully, there is a distinct and palpable injury,” Justice Raymond Mitchell wrote in the decision.
The ruling is here. The case was sent back to the trial court.
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It just keeps getting more ridiculous
Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Fox News is gonna Fox News, I suppose. Chaos in the streets, some predict..
- Illinois enacting a law that ends cash bail is a “backdoor way” to defund law enforcement and will likely spark a police exodus as officers ask why they should even bother arresting people, according to retired law enforcement officials who spoke to Fox News Digital.
Scroll down…
[Retired Fulton County Sheriff Sgt. Donald “Ike” Hackett] added that eliminating cash bail also cuts revenue streams to programs that support victims. He said that revenue from bail is $300,000 in some counties, which is often used to pay for crime victims funds or domestic violence funds, which were established to “to reduce the financial burden imposed on victims of violent crime and their families,” according to the Illinois attorney general’s website that details the state’s Crime Victims Compensation Program.
OK, I’ve seen this stuff about victim restitution before. A bit of context is in order. According to a 2021 report of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, circuit court clerks throughout Illinois disbursed $1.33 billion that year. Subtract the $66.4 million in refunds to people who posted cash bail, paid fines, etc. and that left $1.27 billion, which, needless to say, is a huge pile of cash.
Of that $1.27 billion, just $11.5 million was paid to crime victims statewide. Sheriffs offices, however, received $15.2 million for process serving and court security.
* Back to the story…
Hackett pointed to an incident this month in Fulton County, where an 18-year-old recently released from custody on his own recognizance for domestic battery charges allegedly attacked a 14-year-old boy in Lewistown. […]
“This is what cashless bail will bring,” Hackett said.
Um, under the SAFE-T Act, domestic battery will be a detainable offense. The retired sheriff took a recent failure by his own county and projected it onto a law that hasn’t yet taken effect. And everyone seems to ignore the fact that groups which work with, and advocate for domestic violence victims supported the law because it got serious about domestic violence.
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* For those who aren’t familiar with the Metro East area, MetroLink is the transit agency that serves both sides of the Mississippi River in the St. Louis area. Here’s St. Louis Public Radio…
MetroLink will soon get $223 million from the federal government to replace aging light rail cars and repair damage from flooding, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in East St. Louis on Monday.
The first portion of the federal money, $27 million, will help repair damage sustained last summer during record flooding. The remaining $196 million will fund 48 new light rail cars.
“We know how much transit means to people, and we know that this community has been through a lot,” Buttigieg said in a speech at MetroLink’s Emerson Park location. […]
Buttigieg, alongside U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield; U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis County, and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, praised the MetroLink investment as the work of President Joe Biden’s administration. […]
Local officials said earlier this year that Emerson Park [in East St. Louis], the site of Monday’s press conference, would be the location of a new $13.6 million public safety center. The facility is currently being built and is scheduled to be completed in February.
The 16,000-square-foot center will include a new St. Clair County dispatch operation and space for the sheriff’s department.
Gov. Pritzker announced earlier this year that the Illinois State Police’s Metro East regional headquarters would be located in East St. Louis.
* Buttigieg also visited Urbana on Monday…
In looking toward the future, Buttigieg put forth the idea of “complete streets.”
“Now is a great opportunity not to repeat some of the mistakes that we’ve inherited,” Buttigieg said. “There was a period that we thought, for example, that the only function of a road going through the middle of a built-up area where a lot of people live is to blast vehicles through as quickly as possible.”
A “complete street,” according to Buttigieg, would include sidewalks and more space so that cars, bicycles and pedestrians, including wheelchair users, can “coexist peacefully.”
He said that while this may seem like a new idea to some, he sees it as going back to basics, approaching city planning more like someone would have before the invention of cars.
“We were so excited about what cars could bring that we neglected to fit that into a bigger picture,” Buttigieg said.
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Open thread
Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s up with y’all this Wednesday?…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* Daily Southtown | South Suburban Airport plans get lift after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs bill to find development partner: The state has spent $100 million to buy some 5,000 acres for the proposed airport near Monee, and Greenwood said that acreage represents about 90% of the needed land.
* NBC Chicago | Here are some of the new Illinois laws hitting the books in coming months: Among the new bills are laws allowing residents legal recourse if they are the victim of “deep-fake” sexual material, while another will impact the way medical facilities can attempt to obtain funds from patients via the collections process.
* Sun-Times | Residents decry ‘audacity’ of proposed $402 million Peoples Gas rate hike: Speakers at a public meeting at UIC tell Peoples Gas executives that the cost of living is already high and a rate hike would add to households’ financial pressure.
* Capitol Connection | State strikes deal with labor unions, state workers to get raise: The deal also included some new rules around hiring that are meant to streamline the process, and the governor’s office says there are also some streamlined disciplinary processes.
* Sun-Times | Appeals court revives Potawatomi lawsuit over alleged ‘rigged’ casino selection in Waukegan: A temporary casino has been up and running in the north suburb since February, but an appellate court ruling could end up forcing officials to start the selection process from scratch following complaints from the Forest County Potawatomi Community.
* Lake County News-Sun | Local state lawmakers behind new measure to keep youths in state care closer to home; ‘They don’t have anyone around who knows them’: Illinois young people with disabilities and mental health medical needs in the care of the state’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will get more attention closer to home as the result of recently signed legislation.
* Chicago Mag | Illinois Is the Most Progressive State: During the mayoral campaign, the most dedicated Johnson volunteer I met was Jonathan Nagy, a 33-year-old queer artist who moved to Chicago from his hometown in Ohio in 2016. Small-town Ohio is not a great place to be queer, or an artist. Nagy settled in Logan Square because he was “looking for a political community” and “wanted intentional spaces to meet my neighbors.” Those sound like the motivations that have created Bishop’s Big Sort. Bishop also wrote that “gay couples were congregating in particular cities — specific zip codes, in fact.”
* Tribune | Migrants are moved out of police station near Grant Park ahead of Lollapalooza, some to newly opened Broadway Armory shelter across town: Dozens were put on city-run buses to the Broadway Armory in Edgewater, among the first to be lodged there after it opened as a shelter for asylum-seekers Tuesday morning. Chicago sanitation workers threw away what the migrants left behind at the police station into a garbage truck — mattresses, children’s backpacks, shopping carts filled with food, rugs and clothing.
* Sun-Times | Road leading to Chicago’s 2024 Democratic Convention looks a bit like 1968: We are a nation of movements, with a new generation advocating for Black Lives Matter, defunding the police, LGBTQ+ issues, abortion rights and anti-gun legislation. On the other side are their polar opposites.
* Post-Tribune | Protests held across region against Indiana abortion ban taking effect: Indiana’s six remaining abortion clinics — including the Merrillville Planned Parenthood location — have stopped providing abortions ahead of the state’s near-total abortion ban officially taking effect, clinic officials said Tuesday.
* Bolts | Oregon Wants to Register Medicaid Recipients to Vote. Will Biden Officials Allow It?: The bill could add tens of thousands of people to voter rolls by allowing the Oregon Health Authority to forward basic information it collects from people applying for Medicaid coverage—age, residence, and citizenship status—to election officials. These officials would then use it to register anyone who is eligible to vote and but not already signed up to do so.
* AP | Wisconsin Supreme Court flips to liberal control: Janet Protasiewicz, who made abortion rights a focus of her winning election campaign and called Republican-drawn redistricting maps “rigged,” marked the start of her 10-year term with a swearing-in ceremony in the state Capitol Rotunda attended by an overflow crowd of hundreds, including many Democratic officeholders.
* WBEZ | Chicago’s interim top cop was accused in a domestic violence complaint in 1994: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s interim police superintendent was accused of domestic violence by his then-wife in 1994, but she ultimately stopped cooperating with an internal probe into the incident, and the department soon concluded that her complaint was “not sustained,” records show.
* Tribune | Our 18 must-dos before summer ends: Entertainment writers share their personal picks: It’s open year-round but late summer is an especially nice time to get to know a place in East Dundee called Van’s Frozen Custard & Burgers. […] Ensconced within Avondale’s rapidly developing riverside edge, you’ll find one of the most scenic stretches of the Chicago River’s North Branch. You might already know its east side, home to Clark Park (with its famous Jeanne Gang-designed WMS Boathouse), a mountain biking course and the southern terminus of the new 312 RiverRun trail.
* Tribune | James O’Connor Sr., former ComEd CEO and philanthropic leader, dies: Between 1963 and 1980, O’Connor rose through the ranks at ComEd before serving as CEO until 1998. Much of his time at the head of ComEd was spent grappling with the company’s nuclear program, which faced structural and financial challenges despite O’Connor’s sterling civic reputation.
* Crain’s | Hollywood is giving Ken Griffin the celebrity-actor treatment: Sony Picture’s “Dumb Money,” which will premiere in theaters Sept. 22, casts Chicagoland native Nick Offerman as the Citadel founder. Offerman, who was born in Joliet and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is perhaps best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom “Parks & Recreation.”
* Pioneer Press | Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz remembered by North Shore residents as attentive and kind neighbor: For Northfield’s Molly Oelerich, the memories are sweet in both a literal and figurative sense as she was the parent of children who went to the Winnetka-area home of Rocky and Marilyn Wirtz on Halloween. After standing in what could be a long line, children would receive full-size candy bars from Marilyn and then Rocky would autograph hockey pucks as they stood in their driveway.
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More school bus woes
Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Chalkbeat…
More than 8,000 Chicago Public Schools students will not have bus service on the first day of class on Aug. 21, a problem the district blames on an ongoing bus driver shortage.
With only half of the 1,300 drivers needed to transport students who require bus service, Chicago said it will instead prioritize transportation for students with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness. Both groups are legally required to receive transportation to school. […]
This is the third year in a row in which the return to class has been marred by transportation woes that have left thousands of students without transportation or with long commutes. The district, which contracts with outside companies to provide transportation, has attributed bus service snarls in previous years to nationwide driver shortages.
In an effort to help fix ongoing transportation problems, the district in March approved a $4 million contract with Education Logistics Inc., known as EduLog, to schedule bus routes, determine start times for summer school and assign bus vendors during the school year. The contract is set to run through June 30, 2026. […]
Last year, Chicago provided bus service to 17,275 children, or about 5% of students.
Looks like that new contract hasn’t work out too well. More money hasn’t helped…
CPS contracts with 13 school bus companies, and has added alternative modes of transportation like taxis and vans over the past two years to help deal with the bus driver shortage.
CPS says in the past year, busing companies have increased wages for drivers to $20 to $25 an hour and many have also increased recruitment fairs and added referral bonuses.
Yes, the labor market is super tight, but this is a national and statewide problem and has been a problem for quite a while. There was a time when school districts directly employed bus drivers. That’s not the case so much anymore, as districts have sought to slash short-term and long-term costs. It ain’t working right.
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Afternoon roundup
Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz on the search to replace the late Todd Maisch…
Sources close to the matter say the Illinois Chamber of Commerce has hired an executive recruitment firm, Koya Partners, and is getting ready to interview candidates, with a decision likely by sometime this fall.
A Chamber spokesman said only that the search process has begun and is in the opening stages. But sources say the list of applicants includes former state GOP Chairman Pat Brady, now a Springfield lobbyist; Clark Kaericher, the chamber’s senior vice president of government affairs, and former state Rep. Keith Wheeler, an Oswego Republican who lost his seat in the 2022 election after Democrats remapped him into a difficult district.
* Southern Illinois news…
Governor JB Pritzker, Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) today celebrated Contour Airlines’ “first flight” – the very first flight of a new route established between Chicago and Marion. The new route will make Southern Illinois more accessible for business travel and visiting family and friends, while opening the door to the many tourism gems and attractions throughout each region. […]
The new route will offer daily direct passenger flights between O’Hare in Chicago and Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois in Marion, making travel between Southern Illinois and Chicago more seamless, accessible, and affordable. This marks the first time a passenger route between O’Hare and Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois is being offered. […]
In support of the new flight route, the Airport Authority in Marion – which oversees Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois – will receive a $1.4 million grant through DCEO.
* Crain’s…
The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board isn’t taking any time off, as evidenced by its sharp critique of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker published over the weekend.
Using the new contract that the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 and Pritzker recently agreed to as a springboard, the editorial touches on what it considers consequences for “workers in the private economy” as well as Illinois’ pension woes, while labeling the governor a “union boss.”
There’s also a reference to Pritzker’s reported White House aspirations and a bold prediction: “Mark it down: Democrats will demand a federal taxpayer bailout when Illinois pensions become unaffordable.”
2012 called, it wants its pension rhetoric back.
Pritzker’s office responded to the WSJ editorial…
Governor Pritzker is committed to ensuring that every Illinoisan has access to good-paying opportunities while balancing the very real financial needs of a state that went years without labor contracts under the previous administration. This contract represents a negotiated agreement that expands the pool of state employees, attracts top-tier talent to fill vacancies, retains our strong workforce, and provides opportunity for every employee and their families. This contract continues Governor Pritzker’s track record of fiscal responsibility and management, including eight credit upgrades, additional pension payments and a rebuilt Rainy Day fund, after years of failed policies that decimated the state.
* Gotta hand it to the Mendoza crew, this is pretty darned good spin of not-spectacular fundraising…
Of all the recent winners of statewide office, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza spent the least per vote, according to figures pulled from the State Board of Elections.
Dollars and sense: Mendoza spent $1.07 per vote. It’s a pittance considering Gov. JB Pritzker spent a whopping $62.68 a vote in the governor’s race.
How she did it: Mendoza, who holds events downstate as well as in Chicago, likely pulled in Republican voters to help her victory. She received 2,331,714 votes, making her the highest vote-getter in 2022, and spent about $2.3 million on her campaign. Sen. Tammy Duckworth came in with a close second after winning 2,329,136 votes and spending more than $15 million on her race, putting the price per vote at $6.82.
Other statewide office holders: Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias spent $4.29 per vote; Treasurer Michael Frerichs, $1.53; and Attorney Gen. Kwame Raoul, $1.33.
Her opponent was Shannon Teresi, who barely campaigned at all and who spent just $60,946.81 in the last six months of 2022 (which includes part of the primary). I mean, I had to look up Teresi’s name because I couldn’t remember it. That’s less than 4 cents per vote, by the way.
* Staying with politics…
– U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) today announced that his re-election campaign has been endorsed by 22 Republican Central Committee leaders from across the 12th Congressional District. Bost’s coalition of support includes the State Central Committeewoman and Deputy State Central Committeeman for IL-12, as well as 21 Republican county chairs. This newest list of Republican endorsements comes just days after Bost announced support from over 100 local GOP leaders.
“These GOP Central Committee chairs know how much work went into turning Southern Illinois into the Republican stronghold it is today,” said Bost. “And they know we put it all at risk when conservatives start attacking each other rather than taking it to Biden and the liberals who are trying to defeat our values. I appreciate the overwhelming support of our local party leaders and will continue working with them to preserve the strong, unified, conservative movement that has served our region so well.”
The list is here.
* Instead of studying accessibility, can’t they just use best practices and finally get the thing built?…
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and author of the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) Act, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Danny K. Davis (D-IL-07) and Jonathan L. Jackson (D-IL-01) today announced $778,500 in federal funding for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to develop a modern accessibility strategy in advance of a potential reopening of the Englewood Racine Green Line stop on Chicago’s south side. The Racine El station has been closed since 1996, leaving the surrounding community with fewer public transit options and reduced economic opportunity.
Fittin’ to get ready strikes again.
* Press release…
David Welter will serve as a Member of the Executive Ethics Commission. Welter was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 2016 and served the residents of District 75 until 2023. Prior to joining the General Assembly, Welter was elected to the Grundy County Board, serving first as Member and then Chairman. He currently serves as a Real Estate Broker and Owner in Morris, Illinois. An active member of his community, he is a member of the Grundy County Chamber, the Grundy County Economic Development Council, and We Care of Grundy County.
* WaPo looked at a growing problem for Democrats: Turnout among Black men…
Many Democrats interviewed said they were less worried about Black women, whose voting enthusiasm has historically been more robust than that of Black men. Black women were a huge factor in Biden’s victory in 2020. Advocates expect that trend to continue, particularly with Vice President Harris on the ticket and the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who both made history as the first Black women in their roles. […]
Part of the problem, [Terrance Woodbury, chief executive of HIT Strategies, a polling firm focused on young, non-White voters] argues, is that the party’s focus on Trump and Republican extremism is less likely to motivate younger Black men than arguments focused on policy benefits. The messaging, he has argued, must focus on how Black communities have benefited from specific policies.
His own polling has shown that voters’ belief that their vote doesn’t matter is the greatest barrier to voting among Black Americans. […]
Brittany Smith, the executive director of the Philadelphia-based Black Leadership PAC (BLP), which is working to turn out Black voters, said she has noticed a change in how Black people respond to her get-out-the vote efforts in recent years. In the past, she simply needed to remind people of where and when to vote. Now, she said, many express a cynicism about politics that requires a deeper level of persuasion.
“There’s not a night I don’t go to sleep thinking about what turnout will look like in 2024,” Smith said.
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Illinois Newsroom | Some school districts are using COVID-19 aid to catch up on construction. Is your district one of them?: For many districts, it was a once-in-a-lifetime infusion of cash. “When funding is tight, a lot of things that are put off are bigger projects. It’s a lot harder to come up with $7 million to do something than it is to come up with $30,000 to do something,” said Sullivan Superintendent Ted Walk.
* Chalkbeat | Pell Grants return to incarcerated people after nearly 30 years. Here’s what that means in Illinois.: Pell Grant eligibility will depend on whether an incarcerated person lives in a prison with a federally-approved program. The U.S. Department of Education opened up applications early this month and will approve higher education institutions on a rolling basis.
* Illinois Newsroom | Buttigieg visits Savoy to tout infrastructure money for new underpass: Buttigieg’s department awarded Savoy roughly $22.7 million – half of the cost of the project — from a grant within President Biden’s 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Act.
* WGEM | Illinois State Police announce new online crash reporting system: “For simple crashes where only one car is involved and no one is injured, the ability to file a report online instead of along the road will make it safer for drivers and our troopers, and eliminate the need to wait for a trooper to make the report,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly.
* Crain’s | Hospital mergers are heating up in the Midwest: Since October, at least a dozen hospital transactions have been proposed or completed involving buyers or sellers in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and South Dakota. Health systems are joining forces with others in adjacent markets and, in some cases, those that operate in other states.
* Crain’s | Northwestern Memorial, Rush top U.S. News hospital rankings — with a twist: However, unlike in years past, the 2023-2024 Best Hospitals Honor Roll does not call out the 22 top hospitals in order, meaning each of the 22 is essentially equal in the eyes of U.S. News.
* WTTW | US Attorney’s Office in Chicago Aims to be ‘Force Multiplier’ in Anti-Gang Effort: “The Chicago Police Department has 12,000 officers, the federal U.S. Attorneys and federal agents, we can’t replicate that,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Morris Pasqual in an interview with WTTW News. “What we can do is essentially function as more or less a force multiplier. We can bring added resources, added money, added expertise, added personnel and just added effort to the effort.”
* SJ-R | Buscher, 85 days in, discusses changes to emergency response: The new mayor went into detail regarding the city’s response to the storm on Friday during a Citizens Club of Springfield forum. Seeing the impact - an estimated $20 million earlier this month - Buscher announced plans to address future bouts of extreme weather.
* Block Club | Humboldt Park’s Growing Tent City Has Some Neighbors On Edge As Officials Search For Solutions: Before the pandemic, only a few people were living in tents in the sprawling Northwest Side park. But the park’s tent city has since grown to include about 40 people, their bright orange tents visible from North and California avenues.
* The Southern | Fingers crossed: SIU hoping for enrollment increase: Lane showed the trustees a slide indicating a 19.6% increase in undergraduate applications to SIU compared to last year at the same time, a 4.6% increase in admissions and reported that just over 2,200 new undergraduates had enrolled, an increase of 5.1%.
* HuffPost | Abortion Funds Are Hanging On By A Thread A Year After Dobbs: Typically, abortion funds operate with some combination of individual donations and grants from larger organizations or, post-Dobbs, from local governments. California, for example, announced late last year that it would put $20 million toward a fund that helps people access abortion in the state, even if they come from other states. And Megan Jeyifo, the executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, said the group was able to meet increased demand — it’s on track to spend $3 million this year, up from around $600,000 last year — thanks in part to support from the city. But other funds are rapidly running dry, even after a spike in donations that followed last summer’s shock court decision.
* Bloomberg | Caterpillar says China demand slowdown even worse than thought: Chief Executive Officer Jim Umpleby said during Tuesday’s earnings call that the company anticipates further weakness in sales of the machines most used for Chinese construction projects. The view follows the CEO’s downbeat comments on April 27, when he said the total share of sales from the Asian nation would be below its normal expected range of 5% to 10%.
* Bloomberg | Miami’s overflowing septic tanks and trash piles test the city’s appeal to the rich: Some of greater Miami’s massive landfills, known by clever names like Mount Trashmore, will run out of space by 2026, according to a report from Cava’s office. More urgent are the septic systems that serve the city’s 2.7 million residents. Many of those front-yard sewage tanks overflow when it rains, releasing fecal bacteria and other contaminants that transform patches of tropical paradise into toxic swamps that kill fish and sicken people.
* The Atlantic | Enough About Ken: I know a lot of impressive women married to men. Maybe the men are impressive too. I don’t give them much thought, to be honest. By the time I catch up with these women on all they are doing, and commiserate on the state of the world, we rarely have time to talk about their husbands. Sometimes, to be polite, I ask, but they normally don’t come up unless some conflict is brewing. This doesn’t mean that my friends don’t love their partners—just that, when given room to talk about their lives, that’s what they want to talk about: their lives.
* Michigan Advance | In Flint, every pregnant person is about to receive cash through Rx Kids: Beginning in January 2024, every pregnant person in Flint is poised to receive a one-time payment of $1,500 followed by $500 payments per month for the first year of their child’s life. Made through a new program called Rx Kids, these funds could mean the difference between being able to make rent or pay for utilities, Hurt explained.
* Herald-Whig | Cattle judging, bags tournament and country concert highlight Saturday at the Fair: On the other side of the fairgrounds, adult co-ed volleyball and the County Fair Bags Tournament filled out the roster of events for early fairgoers. By noon, the temperature at the fairgrounds was already over 90 degrees, but it didn’t slow down either the participants or the spectators.
* WGN | Beyoncé vs Taylor Swift vs NASCAR: Who’s been the biggest boon to Chicago?: Downtown hotel occupancy peaked at 97% on the early June weekend of Taylor Swift’s concert, according to numbers shared with WGN Investigates by data analytics firm CoStar. That was followed closely by the 95% occupancy rate of central business district hotels on the opening night of Beyoncé’s Chicago concert.
* Tribune | Shedd Aquarium announces 40-foot Caribbean tunnel, new learning studio as part of ongoing $500 million plan: The Shedd Aquarium released plans on Tuesday for upgrading many of its exhibits, gardens and learning spaces by 2027. Bridget Coughlin, president and CEO, said instead of the current geographical-based setup at the aquarium, they will shift toward highlighting animal biology and behavior. She hopes it will encourage visitors to take action on sustainability and climate change.
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* As we discussed yesterday, this claim is not factual…
Full text…
To the Left, citizenship is meaningless. Illinois is now letting illegal aliens become police officers.
In Florida, we took action to combat the harms of Biden’s border crisis. We also value our citizen officers who serve and protect our communities.
As President, I will restore American sovereignty.
No illegal alien should have authority over any American citizen. It is a sad commentary on the state of America that this is even a debate.
* Clapback…
* The Hill…
Pritzker has been defending the new Illinois law after many have falsely characterized it as a law allowing immigrants who had entered the country illegally apply for law enforcement positions. In fact, the new law states that “individuals who are not citizens, but are legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law” can apply for police jobs at the beginning of 2024.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) are among the conservative lawmakers criticizing the new law.
Pritzker has argued that similar legislation exists in other states and that many DACA recipients and legal residents already serve in the U.S. military.
* The new law states this…
The sheriff of any county or the corporate authorities of any municipality may authorize, empower, employ, or permit a person to act as deputy sheriff or special policeman for the purpose of preserving the peace, who is not a citizen of the United States, who is legally authorized under federal law to work in the United States and is authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess a firearm, or who is an individual against whom immigration action has been deferred by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process and is authorized under federal law to obtain, carry, or purchase or otherwise possess a firearm.
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* March of Dimes…
With over 3.5 million births in the United States annually, and rising rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, there is ample opportunity to improve maternal outcomes across the country. More than 2 million women of childbearing age live in maternity care deserts, areas without access to birthing facilities or maternity care providers. Access to maternity care is essential for preventing poor health outcomes and eliminating health disparities. This report expands on the 2022 Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. report by taking a deeper dive into state level data and examining additional barriers that impact access to care. This data can be used to inform policies and practice recommendations in each state.
This report presents data on several important factors: levels of maternity care access and maternity care deserts by county; distance to birthing hospitals; availability of family planning services; community level factors associated with prenatal care usage as well as the burden and consequences of chronic health conditions across the state. While not an exhaustive list, each of these topics contribute to the complexity of maternity care access in each state. Working to improve access to maternity care by bringing awareness to maternity care deserts and other factors that limit access is one way in which March of Dimes strives to reduce preventable maternal mortality and morbidity for all pregnant people.
* You can click here to see an interactive national map. But let’s look at some of the Illinois-specific study findings…
* 34.3% of counties are defined as maternity care deserts compared to 32.6% in the U.S.
* 4.6% of women had no birthing hospital within 30 minutes compared to 9.7% in the U.S.
* 13.7% of birthing people received inadequate prenatal care, less than the U.S. rate of 14.8%.
* 3.8% of babies were born to women who live in rural counties, while 1.8% of maternity care providers practice in rural counties in Illinois.
* In Illinois, women travel 6.8 miles and 12.3 minutes, on average, to their nearest birthing hospital. Overall, in the U.S. women travel 9.7 miles to their nearest birthing hospital.
* Women living in counties with the highest travel times (top 20 percent) could travel up to 47.8 miles and 59 minutes, on average, to reach their nearest birthing hospital.
* In rural areas across Illinois, 35.5% of women live over 30 minutes from a birthing hospital compared to 3.5% of women living in urban areas.
* Women living in maternity care deserts traveled 5.1 times farther than women living in areas with full access to maternity care in Illinois.
* There are 4 Title X [family planning] clinics per 100,000 women in Illinois compared to 5.3 per 100,000 in the U.S. overall.
* On average, people living in maternity care deserts in Illinois, travel 4 times farther to reach their nearest Title X clinic compared to people living in full access counties.
* In Illinois, the [pre-term birth] rate was 10.7 percent, compared to 10.5 percent in the U.S. overall in 2021.
* They also have county interactive maps, so click here to see those…
MATERNITY CARE DESERTS
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The lost art of outreach
Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
At a corner in North Lawndale, the familiar tune of an ice cream truck rang out as it drove past crowds of community leaders and advocates who wanted to create a welcoming atmosphere for those in the neighborhood affected by gun violence looking for resources.
The gathering at Deliverance Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith was just a few blocks away from where a 21-year-old woman was fatally shot Sunday morning. The mass shooting, which occurred at a birthday party in the 1500 block of South Keeler Avenue, left another eight people, seven of them women, wounded by gunfire.
* Sun-Times…
The purpose of the temporary center was to help victims “get on the path to healing,” said Aileen Robinson, assistant director of CPD’s Crime Victim Services.
She said city officials had just returned from visiting two cities where this is done. “We are aligning with what is going on in the country,” Robinson said.
Inside the church, counselors sat at tables with brochures outlining services available to them: a pamphlet about CPD’s crime victim services, another about the Center on Halsted’s anti-violence project.
Stress balls and Play-Doh were piled on the table. Two therapy dogs from Lutheran Church Charities sat on the entranceway floor waiting to be petted.
Ald. Monique Scott (24th) praised the city for organizing the resource center in less than a day. But she pointed out that the room was filled almost completely with outreach workers — with no apparent victims or their neighbors.
“We do have to start knocking on some doors,” Scott said. “We must find a different approach because what happened the other day, it was disheartening.”
* Back to the Tribune…
Organizers also knocked on doors on the block to provide support, stopping to chat with people sitting on their porch or walking dogs.
“Because somebody is in their house right now that needs the help and the resources that are here, but they’re scared to come to this type of setting,” [Corniki Bornds, founder of Help Understanding Grief] said.
It’s about meeting people where they’re at, she said.
I’m glad they did get out there to knock on doors and talk to people where they’re at.
Anecdote, not data, but most of the “outreach” I’ve seen at events this summer is basically people from the government or non-profits sitting at a table in a tent waiting for others to come talk to them about an important program. That’s not actual outreach.
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* From the Ogletree Deakins law firm blog last October…
On October 12, 2022, a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois concluded that a company violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (Privacy Act or BIPA) 45,600 times over six years by collecting truck drivers’ fingerprints to verify identities without the informed, written consent the Privacy Act requires. This is the first jury verdict rendered under the Privacy Act following a spike in class action filings under the statute. […]
Following the jury’s findings, the federal judge assigned to the case awarded $5,000 in liquidated damages for each intentional or reckless violation. Hence, the plaintiff-class received a judgment totaling $228 million.
* The company, BNSF Railroad, filed a motion to overturn or at least limit the jury’s verdict. From the Ogletree Deakins last month…
A federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois vacated a $228 million damages award issued following the first-ever jury verdict in an Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (Privacy Act or BIPA) class action and ordered a new trial on the issue of damages. However, in doing so, the judge refused to overturn the jury’s finding that the company’s Privacy Act violations were intentional or reckless.
In the June 30, 2023, ruling, the federal district court judge determined that there was sufficient evidence presented to the jury to find that the company was directly or vicariously liable for Privacy Act violations and to find that those violations were intentional or reckless. The judge further ruled that Privacy Act damages are discretionary and “that a damages award after a finding of liability is a question for the jury.” As such, the judge granted the company’s post-trial motion for a new trial on the issue of damages, which according to court records is set to commence in October 2023. […]
In vacating that award, the judge pointed to the subsequent February 2023 ruling by the Supreme Court of Illinois in Cothron v. White Castle. In that case, the Illinois Supreme Court held that Privacy Act claims accrue on each and every scan or collection, but in doing so, observed that a judge has the discretion to fashion damages so as not to result in “annihilative liability.” The judge in the present case stated that this observation “suggests how the Illinois Supreme Court is likely to rule if it were to address this question [of Privacy Act discretionary damages] in the future.” […]
The judge noted that the company continued to collect drivers’ fingerprints without obtaining informed consents for nearly one year after being sued and learning that there were potential compliance concerns with the system under the Privacy Act and only appeared to stop due to the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
It is not clear whether a jury will ultimately uphold the $228 million damages award in the case, but the ruling is nevertheless significant in that it suggests that damages are not simply a strict calculation of a statutory damages amount multiplied by the number of violations. This is especially important for companies following the Cothron ruling, which found that Privacy Act violations accrue on each scan. With violations occurring per scan, which may occur regularly (potentially multiple times per day), and a five-year statute of limitations, Privacy Act damages have the potential to skyrocket, which could also open the floodgates for more Privacy Act class actions.
While the holding is not binding on Illinois courts, the ruling highlights the language from the Cothron decision suggesting that Privacy Act damages are discretionary. That interpretation may be persuasive on other courts to hold that juries should fashion “appropriate” damage awards in Privacy Act class actions.
The ruling is here.
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* Center Square…
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker appeared to concede that his and Democratic lawmakers’ ban on a wide variety of semi-automatic handguns and rifles has a less than 50-50 chance of surviving in the federal court system.
During a discussion the governor’s office said was about “gun violence prevention” at Temple Jeremiah in Northfield Thursday, Pritzker was asked about the chance his ban on certain semi-automatic firearms and magazines survives a challenge in the federal courts.
“It is not zero chance and it is not, you know, 30% chance, I think it’s better than that that we will win,” Pritzker said. “I don’t know what percent to put on it. I just think we have a pretty good argument.”
* What he actually said during the Q and A…
Q: So at the national level, and there was even an article today in the Tribune about this, we seem to have hit a roadblock to pass a Federal Assault Weapons Ban and the Supreme Court’s, particularly Justice Thomas’, rulings in in the cases before the court, the ruling against state gun restrictions. So take out your crystal ball. Where where do you think this is all going?
Pritzker: Where’s this all going? We need to make sure that we get people appointed to the Supreme Court who are going to do the right thing. [Applause]
I do think that that, again, going back to the case that it is likely to be the Illinois case going to the Supreme Court, I do think that we have, you know, I don’t know what percentage chance to put on it. But it is not zero chance and it is not you know 30 percent chance. I think it’s better than that, that we will win. I don’t know what percent to put on it. I just think that we have a pretty good argument. And it’s demonstrated by the quality of the bill that got passed and signed here in Illinois and the commentary of the appellate court judges.
So you know, when you say where’s it all going? We’re in this terrible situation, where essentially it’s been made available to everybody to go by almost any, lots of hand guns are available to everybody in the audience and everybody out there in the world. And more and more of them have been purchased. And I think we have today read that we have 390 million guns in private hands in a country that has about, what, 340 million people in it. And that doesn’t mean that everybody in this room has a gun but it means that somebody else out there has more than one gun. And as I said before, there are lots of people buying guns because they, not because they feel like they should have a gun or you know, but because now they feel like everybody else has a gun. And so they have to protect themselves, or they want to be like their neighbors who are asking, ‘Do you have one? Do you have one?” And so this is the world we’re living in. And I was just abroad in the UK. They can’t believe what’s going on with guns in the United States and they don’t understand how a rational society like ours can let the continuation of the growth of gun ownership, particularly very deadly weapons can continue to harvest among us.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
* More from the Q and A…
Q: Someone’s asking ‘How do you feel about the safe storage laws and Ethan’s law in particular which has a penalty to parents with minors in the house where guns aren’t stored properly or safely?’
Pritzker: I think we need to pass legislation to lock up guns in homes. [Applause] I think if you’re going to own a gun, you have to be responsible with it. And this is one way for us to demand and to ask people to do the right thing and keep them safe in their own homes. So I’ll just leave it there.
* Insurance requirements for gun owners…
Pritzker: That’s not from my perspective about trying to make it expensive or difficult, you know, we can’t put roadblocks just for the sake of roadblocks to people buying guns that are legal to acquire. On the other hand, there is a real problem when guns are misused, not kept properly, loaned out willy nilly to people who shouldn’t have them. People have to be responsible. And I think that being held liable for that means that you’re probably going to, should have, the requirement or at least, we should be contemplating a requirement of people who are going to purchase a gun to have some kind of insurance. I say that though, without having done the research on what is the cost of that insurance, what would be the liability that people would be subjected to. So I don’t want to just make an announcement here that I think, you know, broadly, we ought to require insurance but I do think we’ve got to contemplate it and there should be hearings about it and we should ask the insurance industry and we should also try to understand what the the cost to an individual really would be.
* Taxing ammunition…
Pritzker: I think over the course of the last 35 years that I’ve been engaged in this, that’s certainly something that’s come up quite a lot. Could you just tax bullets, you know, with a high tax and then no one will buy them. I think that the Supreme Court essentially would shut that down because the effectiveness of the Second Amendment, they would say, would be nullified. And again, there may be people you know, who think that we should nullify the Second Amendment, but not the Supreme Court of the United States today.
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* Press release…
Northwestern University today announced that it has engaged former United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch from the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to lead an independent review of the processes and accountability mechanisms in place at the University to detect, report and respond to potential misconduct in its athletics programs, including hazing, bullying and discrimination of any kind.
As part of her review, Lynch will examine the culture of Northwestern Athletics to ensure it is consistent with the University’s mission and values as a leading academic institution. Lynch will conduct this review with feedback from and engagement with faculty, staff, students and alumni. The results of her review will be made public.
“Hazing has absolutely no place at Northwestern. Period, said Northwestern President Michael Schill. “I am determined that with the help of Attorney General Lynch, we will become a leader in combating the practice of hazing in intercollegiate athletics and a model for other universities. We will provide all of our students with the resources and support they need and do whatever is necessary to protect their safety and ensure that our athletics program remains one we can all be proud of.”
Vice President for Athletics & Recreation Derrick Gragg added, “The Athletics Department welcomes this review as a critical tool in identifying the additional steps Northwestern can take to eradicate hazing. By making the results of her review public, we hope our entire community will be better informed and guided as we all work to address this critical issue in college athletics.
Lynch’s review is part of a series of immediate actions the University has taken in response to the findings from the independent investigation of allegations of hazing in the football program, which were announced July 7. Those actions include:
◦ Monitoring of the football locker room.
◦ In-person anti-hazing training led by outside experts for all University sports teams, coaches and staff. The first session begins Aug. 3 for the football team - its first day of fall practice with training for other teams to follow.
◦ Enhancement of the University’s existing reporting resources with the development of an online tool for reporting complaints of hazing, bullying and other misconduct.
Lynch will begin her review immediately and will provide updates to both President Schill and the Board of Trustees’ Audit and Risk Committee. At the conclusion of her review, Lynch will make her results public.
Thoughts?
* Related…
* In hazing scandal, Northwestern University is flunking crisis management: “Unless everyone gets in the same room to map out and agree upon a prompt, transparent crisis response, then the longer you let the story fester, the worse it becomes,” said Ron Culp, a public relations consultant at DePaul University. He added that Northwestern was slow on the uptake to figure out the seriousness of the allegations. “That’s kind of where they got themselves off to a slow negative start in the public perception of what was going on there.”
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Delivery Helps Chicago Restaurants Grow On Uber Eats
Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
At Uber Eats, local restaurants are the backbone of our communities and delivery continues to help small business owners reach new customers and increase sales.
We recently published the results of the 2022 US Merchant Impact Report—which come directly from a survey of merchant partners. Read More.
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Open thread
Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* What’s going on? Keep it Illinois-centric please…
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Isabel’s morning briefing
Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* Here you go…
* Capitol News Illinois | Illinois to invest more than $23 million in abortion access, reproductive health care initiatives: To expand Illinois’ capacity to care for the sharp increase in abortion-seekers, the state’s Department of Public Health will spend $10 million to create a hotline to aid callers in finding providers and making appointments. Pritzker had proposed the funding in February, and Democratic lawmakers included it in the state’s fiscal year 2024 budget this spring. The hotline is in its beginning stages as IDPH puts out a request for proposals.
* NBC Chicago | Pritzker defends Illinois bill that allows non-citizens to become police officers: During a press conference where he spoke about legislation protecting reproductive rights in the state, Pritzker emphasized that the bill would be limited to individuals who are legally allowed to work in the United States, and who are legally allowed to possess firearms.
* CBS Chicago | State Treasurer Michael Frerichs launches “First Steps” college savings program: “Illinois First Steps is an important step towards ensuring all Illinois children can access higher education in their future,” Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said. […] All families can open a free 529 college savings account with Bright Start or Bright Directions and submit a claim for the $50 deposit from the state anytime before the child’s 10th birthday.
* WGLT | Some Illinois lawmakers want to see U.S. call a constitutional amendments convention: Three Republican lawmakers plan to represent Illinois at an event in Williamsburg, Virginia, later this week that’s sponsored by a political action group that wants to trigger a constitutional amendments convention within the next three years.
* Vermillion County First | GOP State Rep Mike Marron Announces He Will Not Seek Reelection: The statement closes with Marron saying “Thank you to everyone who was a part of my successes over the years. It really has been a humbling experience. It is time to focus on my family’s farm and spend more time with my wife and daughter. After all, there is so much more to life than politics.”
* Daily Herald | ‘I own this’: Utility company leaders apologize for July water crisis in southern Lake County: “(I) want to convey that I own this, along with our operators at the base level,” Colleen M. Arnold, president of the Aqua division of Essential Utilities, told a large crowd during a special Hawthorn Woods village board meeting at St. Matthew Lutheran Church. “There are things we couldn’t control … but what we could control was our response.”
* WTTW | Police Departments Are Gradually Adopting a More Detailed Program to Report Nationwide Crime Data. Chicago Recently Became the Largest User: Other large Illinois municipalities reporting data to NIBRS through the Illinois State Police system in 2022 include Naperville and Elgin, according to the ISP site and local officials. However Aurora, the state’s second largest community, and Waukegan, 10th largest, only reported one month of data in 2022.
* Sun-Times | Weed giants Columbia Care, Cresco Labs call off plans for $2 billion merger : “In light of the evolving landscape in the cannabis industry, we believe the decision to terminate the planned transaction is in the long-term interest of Cresco Labs and our shareholders,” Charles Bachtell, CEO and co-founder of Cresco Labs, said in the release.
* Tribune | Oak Park has promoted integration for more than 50 years. New challenges have local officials reevaluating their approach.: Over the last 50 years, Oak Park has succeeded in transforming itself from a majority-white enclave to a more racially diverse community through a series of policy measures aimed at promoting integration. But new pressures from a lack of affordable housing to sky-high property taxes and lingering racial tensions threaten to undo those gains, some community members and stakeholders say.
* Aurora Beacon-News | Aurora City Council ratifies business done at ‘closed’ meetings held after doors to City Hall automatically locked: After the Committee of the Whole meeting, the council convened its regular meeting at 6:47 p.m. It was adjourned about 7:10 p.m. After the adjournment, members of the council encountered members of the public who were waiting outside City Hall and said the doors were locked.
* Tribune | Cook County employee sues Clerk Karen Yarbrough over soured land sale: A new lawsuit filed by a Cook County employee against Yarbrough and her husband echoes much of the criticism. It alleges a mix of family, political and professional actions taken by Yarbrough — which the employee states were “wanton, calculated, and with malice and willfulness” — defrauded the employee out of hundreds of thousands of dollars involving the sale of two buildings in Maywood, Yarbrough’s political home base.
* Sun-Times | Prosecutors seek contempt charge against former judge accused of stealing from Tuskegee Airman: On Monday, Cook County prosecutors served notice to Martin that they are seeking to have her held in contempt of court for allegedly transferring about $1,200 from cryptocurrency accounts she set up using money she allegedly stole from Wilkerson. Prosecutors a month ago had announced their intention to file the case at a hearing in Wilkerson’s lawsuit against Martin.
* Sun-Times | Another one of Lightfoot’s Cabinet stars leaving Johnson administration: Gia Biagi ushered in the electric scooter era and pioneered the outdoor dining program that helped restaurants and bars survive the pandemic.
* Sun-Times | Chicago Public Schools’ aggressive tactics for removing principals under the microscope: Nine principals have been removed pending discipline or investigations into “serious misconduct” in recent years. Of those, six are Black men.
* Daily Herald | Some trees in the suburbs are in drought stress: What to look for and how to help: Trees in drought stress often display symptoms like wilted foliage, yellowing leaves and premature leaf drop. This year, tulip trees and river birches seem particularly sensitive to the lack of moisture, Yiesla said.
* Tribune | Plant poachers damage Cook County forest preserves as demand for ramps and morels makes foraging more profitable: “Most people think it’s a harmless act,” said Martin Hasler, deputy chief of the Cook County Forest Preserves Police Department. “The forest preserve is for all of us and taking away anything from it disturbs the forest preserve from its natural state.”
* Market Watch | U.S. stocks roar back in 2023 to book best seven months to start a year in decades: The Nasdaq saw its best first seven months of a year since 1975 when the index surged 39.1% over that stretch, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Nasdaq went on to give up some of those gains in 1975, but still finished the year up almost 30%, FactSet data show.
* Daily Beast | Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Threats Against a Nonprofit Prove He’s a Free Speech Phony: Under Elon Musk’s ownership, the platform has routinely used every tool at its disposal to push back on critics. And so it is not without precedent that attorneys for X Corp. recently sent a letter to the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) threatening legal action, after several of the organization’s publications revealed repeated failures to enforce X’s policies around hate speech.
* The Hill | Leprosy cases surging in Central Florida: CDC: In a news release Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that Central Florida has accounted for 81 percent of reported cases in the state and almost one-fifth of reported cases nationwide.
* SJ-R | Sacred Heart-Griffin football coach wins USA TODAY national coaching honor: Leonard, the winningest football coach in Illinois history, guided the Cyclones to a 44-20 win over New Lenox Providence Catholic last year to collect his sixth state championship. “I’ve been blessed,” Leonard said. “I’m from Chenoa, Illinois. My dad just taught me, ‘Whatever you do, be the best you can be.”
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Live coverage
Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023 - Posted by Isabel Miller
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